George Russell made it clear he felt Max Verstappen should be penalised for leaving the track on the first lap of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The Mercedes driver had a clear view of Verstappen cutting across the run-off area at turns one and two on the first lap of the race and moving ahead of Oscar Piastri.
Shortly after the Safety Car was deployed, Russell used his radio to tell race engineer Marcus Dudley “Verstappen completely sent it off the track.” Drivers routinely use their radio communications with their teams to express their views on incidents for the benefit of race control, as Piastri and Verstappen did at the same time.
Russell, who ran third behind Verstappen and Piastri at the start, continued to press the case later in the Safety Car period, asking Dudley: “I presume Verstappen is going to have to give [up] this place?”
“It has been noted, so it will be under investigation,” Dudley replied.
Although Red Bull might have avoided a penalty for Verstappen by instructing him to let Piastri by, they did not. The stewards penalised him, which Dudley related to Russell, who did not reply: “So Verstappen has a five-second penalty.”
Russell might have stood to benefit from Verstappen’s penalty but gradually dropped back after the restart and fell to fifth place at the finish.
There is little love lost between Russell and Verstappen, who have clashed several times in the past. Verstappen called his rival a “dickhead” after they tangled in a sprint race at Baku in 2023.
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