Former Lewis Hamilton mentor expects Max Verstappen to apologize to George Russell and the FIA

Lewis Hamilton's former mentor and former Mercedes boss Norbert Haug expects Max Verstappen to apologize to George Russell and the FIA for his conduct in the F1 Spanish GP. The late safety car changed the entire complexion of the race as it went from being a sure-shot podium for Verstappen to leaving him vulnerable at the restart.

Since Max Verstappen was the only driver in the restart group who had hard tires on his Red Bull compared to everyone else with a soft tire, he was in a very vulnerable position. The driver's slight error on the restart allowed Charles Leclerc to jump him, and slight contact with George Russell at the braking point meant that the Dutch driver had to take evasive action.

While Max Verstappen was being investigated, Red Bull told the driver to switch positions with George Russell, which infuriated him. In what appeared to be a move made in anger, Verstappen would slow down to let Russell pass on the outside but suddenly get on the gas and end up ramming his car into the side of the British driver in a move that seemed intentional.

The driver was handed a 10-second penalty and three F1 penalty points for the incident. Since then, Max Verstappen has also come out and accepted that the move was not right in a social media post.

Former Mercedes boss Norbert Haug told Sky Sports that while he was happy to see Verstappen admit that the move was incorrect, he expected an apology from the Dutch driver to George Russell and the FIA for his racing conduct.

Haug, who was one of the key figures in Lewis Hamilton's formative years as he made his way through junior categories, is one of the most respected voices in the sport. Talking about the Max Verstappen-George Russell incident, he said,

"I was completely blown away. I couldn't believe someone would lash out like that. At least he apologised today. But I think the whole chain of events needs to be examined again - and I'd very much like to do that. To me, today's apology was missing two very simple words at the end: 'Sorry, George."

He added,

"And maybe he could still apologise to the stewards. That shouldn't have happened. It's a good start, but as we all know, a beautiful ending is what makes it complete. So I would have expected him to say: 'I apologise to George, I apologise to the FIA for my misconduct, and to all the fans who were watching.' He's a person who is admired - and rightly so. Undoubtedly the very best racing driver of our time, and has been for quite a while. And accordingly, he needs to act like it."

Max Verstappen admits error in social media post

In a rare case of a driver admitting an error, Max Verstappen posted on social media after the race that he made an error and that shouldn't have happened. The Dutch driver is often looked at as someone who doesn't do such a thing and tends to block out any criticism that comes his way, which was also what made the apology interesting. He wrote in his Instagram post,

"We had an exciting strategy and good race in Barcelona, till the safety car came out. Our tyre choice to the end and some moves after the safety car restart fuelled my frustration, leading to a move that was not right and shouldn’t have happened."

After the race in Barcelona, Max Verstappen is now 49 points behind Oscar Piastri in the championship standings. Considering his points deficit and a slower car compared to McLaren's, Verstappen's hopes for the 2025 title continue to diminish.