George Russell has disclosed that he encountered Max Verstappen at an airport days after their controversial collision during the Spanish Grand Prix.
The on-track incident resulted in severe consequences for the Red Bull driver, who received a 10-second time penalty and three penalty points.
The punishment has left Verstappen perilously close to an automatic race suspension, sitting just one point away from the 12-point threshold.
Such a ban would deal a catastrophic blow to his championship aspirations.
"To be honest, I totally forgot about Barcelona because he was there with his newborn.
"And we were at the security machine. So he just had a quick chat, and then he was busy folding the pram down to put it through the machine."
The clash between two of F1's biggest rivals has been the biggest talking point heading into this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen is in a precarious situation going into Canada
REUTERSSome pundits called for Verstappen to be disqualified off the back of the incident, perceiving the four-time world champion to have deliberately rammed into Russell after being told to concede a position to the Mercedes man.
Russell, however, did not see it this way. "I think he was trying to run me off the road, but I don't think he was trying to intentionally crash into me," he said. "I think he just misjudged it."
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As well as a devastating 10-second time penalty, Verstappen was hit with three penalty points by the stewards.
This leaves him within one of an automatic race suspension, which would likely bring an end to his dwindling title hopes.
Russell made it clear that this would be a deserved outcome.
"If he gets his 12 points, it wouldn't be unjust, you know," he professed. "So that's literally why it's there."
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George Russell wants to make the most of the difficult position his rival is now in
GettyRussell wants to maximise the awkward position that his rival now finds himself in.
"We have to be smart and use it to our advantage," he said.
"I'm going to continue racing exactly the same because at the end of the day, that's what I did last week, and I benefited from it."
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The pair collided in Spain
X @SkySportsF1"And as we said, if you do keep driving like that, you'll accumulate your points and you'll get punished.
"Ultimately, he got punished for it. So, from my side, kind of long may it continue and for a neutral, it spices things up a little bit."
Russell has a lot to gain from Verstappen's predicament.
The British racer currently sits fourth in the Drivers' Championship standings, 26 points behind the Red Bull man, and is looking to strengthen his position as he prepares to negotiate a new contract with Mercedes for 2026 and beyond.
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