A Safety Car had been called after Kimi Antonelli parked up in a gravel trap following a power unit issue. While Verstappen was fitted with hard tyres for the restart, those around him had softs – and thus the Dutchman was at an immediate disadvantage.
He was lying third behind the two McLarens but lost a place to Leclerc along the straight, with the two banging wheels in an incident that the stewards decided required no further action. Russell then dived down the inside into Turn 1, making contact with Verstappen which sent the Red Bull driver onto the escape road.
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While he emerged ahead of Russell, the team ordered him to give the place back – and it was in this moment the second contact was made. The stewards decided Verstappen was to blame, handing him a 10-second time penalty and those three penalty points on his super licence.
Writing on Instagram after the race, Verstappen said: “We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, [until] the Safety Car came out. Our tyre choice at the end and some moves after the [Safety Car] restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn’t have happened.
“I always give everything out there for the team and emotions can run high. You win some together, you lose some together. See you in Montreal.”
