Toto Wolff issues verdict on Max Verstappen 'road rage'

Toto Wolff has shared his thoughts over Max Verstappen's collision with George Russell during the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Mercedes team principal was measured in his appraisal of the situation, which the Red Bull driver was awarded a 10-second time penalty and three points on his FIA super licence for, but did contend that if it was a moment of "road rage" for Verstappen, it is "not good."

After the two drivers first made contact in Turn 1 at the safety car restart, which saw Russell slide into the RB21 and push it wide, the Milton Keynes team recommended Verstappen give the place to the British driver or risk being handed a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.

This enraged the four-time F1 drivers' champion, who was already aggrieved by contact initially from Charles Leclerc and then Russell.

A couple of laps later, at the behest of his team, heading into Turn 5 Verstappen slowed, allowing the W16 to pass, but just before it cleared his car and turned into the corner, he accelerated, instigating contact.

Wolff explained how the Brackley-based squad was unaware at the time of the instruction from Red Bull, and believed Verstappen to have an issue.

"So I just heard, actually, that Max had the call to let him [Russell] pass, right? I didn't know," the Austrian told media, including RacingNews365, when asked for his view of the incident.

"We were under the impression in the race that he had a problem with the car, and that's why he was so slow getting out of out of [Turn] 4."

Addressing the more immediate matter at hand, Wolff likened the move to when drivers let rivals past just before DRS zones, in a bid to re-take the position instantly.

"I mean, if it was road rage, which I can't imagine, because it was too obvious, then it's not good. But the thing is, I don't know what he aimed for. Did he want to let George pass and immediately re-pass?

"You know, put George [as] the car ahead, and then... like the old DRS games, letting him pass it the right way [moment], or... for me, it's just incomprehensible."

Explaining the lack of clarity over Verstappen's thinking in the moment, Wolff chose to allow the 65-time grand prix winner to speak for himself, which he has so far opted not to do.

"But again, I don't know exactly what the motivations were, and I don't want to jump on it and say: 'This was road rage or...' etc., let's see what his arguments are," he said.

After a pause of a few seconds, the 53-year-old added: "It wasn't nice."

Verstappen has since taken to social media to issue a statement, describing the move as "not right and should not have happened", but did not offer a direct apology.