Max Verstappen only ambiguously answered about his collision with George Russell that resulted in a ten-second time penalty during the Spanish Grand Prix. After a late safety car came out, Verstappen was brought in to put on hard tyres, while the rest of his rivals were put on the soft tyres.
As a result, the Dutchman came under huge amounts of pressure, with a slide off the restart allowing Charles Leclerc to overtake, with a little touch between the two.
Then, into turn 1, Russell looked for a move, and he forced Verstappen off the track, with the Red Bull driver being told to give the place back after rejoining ahead. He looked to do that, but then Verstappen looked to swerve into Russell deliberately, meaning he was handed a ten-second penalty, dropping from P5 to P10.
Verstappen frustrated and chooses his words carefully
At Viaplay, Verstappen was grilled about the final phase of the Grand Prix, where he only spoke about his disappointment with the race's end.
"We had no tyres left. In hindsight, we should have stayed out, but even then, the peak of the tyres was gone. The hard tyres had no grip at all; you couldn't make it last those six laps on them."
When asked about the incident with Russell, where he gave a hard hit to the Mercedes car, he remains mysterious. "You can fill that in for yourself. It's quite clear. It's frustrating that you then also have to give up the position.
"Clearly, I did not agree, that was noticeable. And then you get that penalty."
Again pressed about the incident. Was it deliberate from Verstappen? He leaves it ambiguous. "We collided. That's correct. I have no idea (how it happened, ed.).
In a final attempt to ask about how the touché happened, Verstappen prudently says: "I don't know."
This article was written in collaboration with Marnik Kok