Max Verstappen reveals major F1 regret: 'That was not OK'

Max Verstappen has admitted he regrets how he handled his frustration during the Spanish Grand Prix earlier this year, which resulted in a time penalty and penalty points.

Verstappen was instructed by Red Bull to hand back his position to George Russell after running wide in the heat of battle late in the race.

A frustrated Verstappen complied but quickly shut the door once again, resulting in contact between the pair.

A 10-second time penalty dropped Verstappen from fifth to 10th in the final race order and inched him closer to a race ban after picking up 11 penalty points in a 12-month period - pressure which has since eased after points expired on his super licence.

Speaking to F1.com, Verstappen acknowledged his conduct at the time was incorrect.

“I regret how I handled it at the time, but you also have to understand how I got to that point,” Verstappen said.

“We did a lot of things wrong in that decision before I even got to the moment where I got upset.

“But it's also because I care a lot. I could have also easily said, 'whatever, the race is done anyway'. But that's not how I am. 

“That's a moment that you look back at and [say] that was not OK.”

Verstappen currently sits 24 points down on the championship lead, with his title hopes offered a significant boost following McLaren's double disqualification from Vegas.

But should he miss out on the championship by a minor margin, Verstappen asserted he will not view the Barcelona incident as the moment he lost the title.

“At the end of the season, let's say I miss out on the championship, it's not a moment that I will say 'that's the moment that I lost it',” he said.

“We've lost it because of our general performance, we've still been in it also because of our performance.

“We did maximise or overperform in other places, or we just were better in executing.”