F1 Spanish GP: Nico Rosberg slams Max Verstappen’s move on George Russell, calls it retaliation. Nico Rosberg believes Max Verstappen should have been disqualified.

Just a penalty for Max Verstappen? According to Nico Rosberg, the Dutchman deserved a harsher punishment after his move on George Russell during the Spanish GP.

It was a weekend to forget for the four-time world champion. In the final stages, Red Bull’s #1 made a risky maneuver on the Mercedes driver at Turn 5, right after the Safety Car restart. Max Verstappen was handed a ten-second penalty, which dropped him from fourth to tenth place.

And that’s not all: he also received three (heavy) penalty points on his license. Max is now in serious danger and could miss a race, as he’s at risk of a suspension.

Nico Rosberg, appearing as a pundit on Sky Sports F1, said Max Verstappen should have been disqualified for what he did. However, the 2016 world champion initially blamed Russell for the incident at Turn 1:

“It was George’s fault because he only fulfilled two of the three requirements when overtaking,” he explained. “So Max could have stayed ahead without giving up the position.”

Instead, Red Bull told him to yield the position, which, according to the German, triggered the reigning world champion’s anger. “Red Bull told him to give the position back, and that made his blood boil even more. And then it looked like a very deliberate retaliation… Waiting for your rival and hitting him just like you felt hit by another driver at Turn 1. And that’s extremely unacceptable,” he stated.

For Nico Rosberg, Max Verstappen’s move went far beyond what deserves a penalty and warranted disqualification: “That’s why I said, ‘OK, if you wait for your opponent to close in and then hit him, that’s a black flag.’”