Max Verstappen apologized to Red Bull for Spanish GP clash with George Russell

Max Verstappen was hit with a 10-second penalty and three penalty points following a collision with the Mercedes of George Russell during the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix

Red Bull Formula 1 team principal Christian Horner has revealed Max Verstappen apologized in the Spanish Grand Prix debrief room for his incident with George Russell.

Verstappen received three penalty points on top of a 10-second time penalty after a bizarre incident in the final laps of the race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where he appeared to deliberately collide with the Mercedes of Russell.

The Dutchman was running third before a late safety car and, having come into the pits to be fitted with a set of hards – the only fresh compound available to Red Bull at the time – he was duly passed by Charles Leclerc at the restart.

Russell then attempted to muscle by at Turn 1, with Verstappen keeping his place only to be told by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase he should give the place back.

Despite arguing the point, Verstappen seemingly obliged before colliding with Russell after appearing to cede the position.

On Monday, Verstappen took to social media to say the incident “should not have happened” but he stopped short of issuing a formal apology.

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images

Horner, though, said the reigning world champion had held his hands up in the immediate aftermath of the grand prix.

Posting on his own Instagram account, Horner wrote: "Spain closes out the triple-header and we leave Barcelona frustrated that we didn’t take more from the race. As a team we attacked on the three-stop which was the better strategy and it was only the safety car which had us over. We would never have been as close to Lando if it wasn’t for the three-stopper.

"The safety car came out at the worst possible time for our strategy, we had the choice to stay out on older tyres or take the gamble with a new set of hard tyres. Hindsight is always 20/20, but we made the best decision at the time with the information we had. The result that followed was frustrating as it was looking to be an easy podium for Max and good championship points.

"Max apologised in the debrief for his incident with Russell. The SC also hurt Yuki’s race, he would’ve been very close if not in the points otherwise if you look at the trajectory he was on.

"But that’s racing. It can turn in a split second. It is one of the reasons we are all so captivated and in love with this sport. It was a tough weekend, but we will busy working hard over the next weeks to make some set-up improvements to the car and come back strong in Montreal."