Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has defended Max Verstappen for his contact with George Russell during the Spanish Grand Prix, claiming the incident was a misjudgement rather than deliberate aggression.
Speaking to Servus TV, Marko explained what the data revealed about the contact with George Russell.
Marko insisted the telemetry showed Verstappen had lifted off the throttle before getting back on the gas. "Max has left the gas, you can see that exactly on the telemetry, and then is back on the gas. That was a misjudgment then of course the devil was loose!"
Verstappen received a 10-second penalty and three penalty points for the incident.
Helmut Marko has seen that data from the clash
ReutersMarko added: "Russell braked too late and Max had to dodge. Max then said 'no' because of the return of the position, but we said the risk is too great."
"It was all very tight the ten-second penalty had more drastic effects. He did not want to return the place at first, but then came the announcement that he should do it."
The Red Bull driver was dealt a difficult hand with new hard tyres while defending against competitors on softs around him.
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Verstappen nearly flew into the wall at the final corner before running wide at turn one as he battled to hold position.
His turn one off was forced by the Mercedes diving up the inside, which his team felt warranted a position swap, asking him to do so on the radio to avoid a penalty.
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Max Verstappen is just one point away from an automatic one race banGettyHe wasn't best pleased with the idea and hit the side of Russell while letting him past, receiving the stern punishment after the race.
Verstappen apologised in Red Bull's post-race debrief, aware that he had left plenty of points on the table on Sunday. One day later, F1 fans praised what Verstappen said about Russell and their fight after he took to social media to take the blame for the incident.
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The 10-second penalty and three penalty points won't have bothered him as much as losing points in the drivers' championship race. However, the penalty points carry significant consequences as Verstappen is now just one similar clash away from an automatic one-race ban.
The social media apology demonstrated Verstappen's acknowledgement of his error in judgement during the heated moment with Russell.
Some could see the funny side in the matter, with Lando Norris making a hilarious comment at Verstappen's move after the race. He said he had produced similar actions on Mario Kart before.
The collision happened on lap 64
X @SkySportsF1The McLaren driver's comparison of Verstappen's aggressive manoeuvre to the popular video game provided a moment of levity following the controversial incident.
Norris's Mario Kart reference highlighted the somewhat reckless nature of the contact between the two drivers during the safety car restart.
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