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Ex-F1 steward makes Max Verstappen disqualification demand - 'It's clear as day'Max Verstappen left plenty of people, including one former FIA Formula 1 steward, unimpressed with his
seemingly deliberate collision with George Russell in BarcelonaCommentsSportDaniel Moxon Senior F1 Writer12:47, 04 Jun 2025Max Verstappen let himself down in Barcelona(Image: Getty Images)
Former Formula 1 race steward Johnny Herbert insists Max Verstappen should have been disqualified after "overstepping the mark" at the Spanish Grand Prix. The Dutchman has been widely
criticised for appeared to deliberately bang wheels with George Russell during the Barcelona race.
Angry already with his car's lack of performance, he was infuriated by contact with Charles Leclerc and Russell after a late safety car restart. And, when told to give up a place to the
latter, he lost his temper and initiated the contact out of frustration.
He was handed a 10-second penalty which dropped him from fifth place to 10th and dealt a blow to his title hopes. But Nico Rosberg said he should have been disqualified on the live Sky
Sports coverage, and Herbert is on the same wavelength as the German.
"Yes, I totally agree with Nico Rosberg, Max Verstappen deserved a black flag and should have been disqualified," the ex-F1 steward told RoobetAlternatives. "There's a point where you have
to be hard on the driver when there have been many of these types of incidents.
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Article continues below "Verstappen is the best driver on the track, with the best racecraft and judgement, but there is always a story with him. It's usually some kind of racing incident we
all end up talking about with Verstappen, unfortunately.
"It was clear as day that Verstappen's move on George Russell was on purpose. He backed out at the right corner, where he could then attack and retake the place by driving into Russell. To
me, that's overstepping the mark."
READ MORE: Max Verstappen vs George Russell: Soured relationship and 'd***head' comment amid F1 feudREAD MORE: Toto Wolff sparks fresh row after Max Verstappen comments following Spanish GP
Speaking after the race, Russell also felt his rival should have been black-flagged for his actions. And the Brit also said it was "a shame" that a four-time F1 champion with the undeniable
talent Verstappen has would lose control in the way he did.
Herbert feels the same way and pointed to the Dutchman's glorious race-winning overtake in Imola just two weeks earlier as an example of how Verstappen can go from the sublime to the
ridiculous. He added: "The move he made in Imola made me go 'wow', then the move he made in Spain takes away that 'wow', it totally disappears and it's frustrating.
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