Verstappen ‘treated harshly’ says ex-team principal – Like him or not, Max Verstappen is a generational talent F1 is fortunate to have in its lineup of competitors. His four consecutive F1 driver titles have not all been won in the best car, as say did most of Hamilton’s and his bid to equal Michael Schumacher’s five in a row has only been attempted by three other drivers in the history of the sport.

Without some miraculous intervention, now 49 points behind championship leader Oscar Piastri it appears Verstappen will not join Schumacher with the ‘magic’ five in a row. Whilst the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix will be remembered for just one moment, this was an epic challenge taken on by Red Bull Racing, to break the mould of racing at the Circuit de Catalunya.

The annual trip to Barcelona has been an illusion for over three decades, the drivers and teams go racing less than they expect to do in Monaco. With 32 wins from the front row in 35 Grand Prix held in the suburb of Montmelo, the tale of F1 racing here is told in a moment.

 

 

 

Red Bull bravely roll the dice

To overtake in Barcelona, the drivers need a tyre offset – which means a lot fresher, newer rubber than the car ahead. This rarely happens amongst the leaders as the driver ahead after turn three usually slows the race to a crawl to save tyres and ensure that at the one stop during the race for fresh rubber, they are not out thought by their nearest rival.

This happens up and down the field and can towards the back lead to a two stop race, but only because someone gambles and the rest ahead follow suit. Up front track position is KING; Hence 32 wins from starting P1 or P2. Red Bull understood al this and rather than take the fifteen points on offer for finishing behind the McLaren’s, the team were desperate for Verstappen to take points from at least Norris or Piastri.

Which leads to the risky three stop they attempted this year. For once the Pirelli rubber on the hard tyre was not deemed suitable for racing. It was slower and took longer to get into the operating window which is why non of the teams planned to use it during the race.

For once Barcelona was set to be a two stop race for the leaders, but Red Bull decided flat out racing and a three stop was their. Best hope of getting in between the McLaren’s and possibly winning the race. And as McLaren team principal Andrea Stella admitted, Verstappen on his final stint was worryingly quick.

Burn all the tyres, lose the race and infuriate Verstappen

 

 

 

Media hype calling for Verstappen ban

The came the unusual sight here of a safety car – last seen in a Grand Prix in Barcelona back in 2019. This ruined Red Bull’s bold strategy for the day. Having already used all their new tyre allocation (soft/medium), the team had half a lap to decide what to do. They elected to fit the new hard tyre to Verstappen’s dismay and the inevitable then followed at the restart of the race.

Max was to be run down by fourth place Charles Leclerc at the restart, although the Monegasque driver did effect contact between the pair down the straight as he tried desperately to get his Ferrari from off the marbles. Something he admitted later. The George Russell tried a hail Mary into turn one, was later adjudicated by the stewards to have been ‘out of control’ and he pinged Verstappen down the escape road.

Sky F1 team were calling for black flags and berating Verstappen for what were in fact no fault incidents for the Dutch driver. Then at his petulant dink at crawling pace into the side of Russell, accusations of being a dangerous driver were aired, something reflected in the morning headlines the next day.

Most social media contributors appeared to believe Verstappen had got off likely. Yet his penalty of ten seconds from the stewards cost him dear as given the field had been bunched up by the safety car this was way more punitive than had it occurred during regular racing. This cost Max a valuable 11 points in his pursuit of the five times dream and the stewards further hit him with penalty points now leaving him precariously on 11 points until July when two will expire.

F1 farce exposed: Fans slam FIA as ‘clown show’ after botched Verstappen penalty

 

 

 

Steiner believes overall penalties were harsh

This will leave Verstappen for several more months within one incident of a race ban, yet in some quarters the claims of he has not been punished enough. Back in 2021, Lewis Hamilton was found guilty of shoving Max off at Copse Corner in Silverstone, while the pair were travelling at 180mph. Hamilton received a penalty, but because it was early in the race we went on to win anyway.

Whether Lewis classic karting tip the back end move was deliberate or not, only he will ever know this. Yet in a comparable situation one driver wins the race, the other is relegated to P10. Founder of the Haas F1 team, Guenther Steiner, no weighs in with his penneth suggesting the fate Verstappen suffered in Barcelona was “harsh.”

Asked whether Verstappen was lucky to get a 10-second time penalty, Steiner said to talkSPORT: “Oh yeah. I would say he got lucky with that one.” Yet the ex-Haas boss countered this thought with the other punishment melted out by the FIA. “I mean, three penalty points, especially when you’re having so many already, when you have so many penalty points, that was pretty strict what they did.

“But the 10 seconds, I mean you could debate it, should he have a bigger penalty or not? But then it put him back quite a lot anyway, he finished 10th so he made only one point. So, he did himself some damage yesterday, absolutely.”

The lack of a racing weekend ahead is likely to see this debate drawn out to exhaustion, yet its clear under the current rules a 10 second time penalty on lap four, allows a driver to recover and even advance their position at the chequered flag. The same offence in the closing stages of the race particularly following a safety car which has bunched up the field, is highly punitive – but that’s the way the F1 stewards roll.

 

 

 

 

MORE F1 NEWS – Stroll set for F1 retirement

Stroll’s participation in the Canadian Grand Prix in doubt as Aston Martin considers emergency stand-in, meanwhile rumours circulate over Stroll’s long term F1 career – As the Formula 1 paddock turns its attention to Montreal, a dark cloud hangs over what should be a homecoming celebration for Lance Stroll. Lance Stroll, the sport’s most prominent Canadian currently, is facing the very real possibility of missing his home Grand Prix — and with that, whispers are growing louder that this might not just be a temporary absence, but his final appearance in the sport altogether.

After aggravating an old injury to his right wrist in a cycling crash earlier this year, Stroll was forced to withdraw from last weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix after qualifying. Although Aston Martin claims that Stroll could still return in Montreal, the lack of communication from his team and the mounting uncertainty over his fitness have fuelled speculation that he may be leaving Formula 1 sooner rather than later.

For now, the team is scrambling behind the scenes to line up alternatives in case their driver cannot suit up for the 15 June showdown in Canada. However, whether they are preparing for one race or the beginning of life without Lance remains a sensitive question that no one at Aston Martin wants to answer just yet…. READ MORE