Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft praised Max Verstappen for his reaction to the controversial incident with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Verstappen finished 10th in the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday after a deliberate clash with Russell.
He hit with a 10-second penalty and three penalty points, making it 11.
This means Verstappen is only one point away from the race ban.
After the race, Verstappen issued a statement on her Instagram account dealing with the incident.
He writes: “We had an exciting strategy and a good race in Barcelona. (() until the safety car came out) the tire choice at the end and the movement after the reboot promoted my frustration and led to the movements that needed to be right.”
Verstappen did not apologise directly, but he has earned praise from Croft for how he treated it.
Regarding the latest episode of the Sky F1 Podcast, Croft said:
“I don’t want that to be his legacy in Formula 1. I want him to remember something like Imola who turns around the outside of his leader and takes the lead, but he can’t afford to keep doing it in the race, so he needs to control it. He’ll eventually catch up with him.
“This is the most mature thing I’ve seen Max after an incident like this and I think it’s his credit.”
Verstappen said, “It’s the first time I’ve apologized.”
Verstappen has been involved in many famous incidents since joining Formula 1 in 2015.
Most notably, his title fight with Lewis Hamilton in 2021 has created many questionable on-track moments.
In recent years, Verstappen has been punished twice at the Mexico City Grand Prix for his offensive defense against Randororis.
Ex-F1 driver Karun Chandhok believes Verstappen has spread the situation due to his reaction.
“George explained to me towards the end of his interview with Rachel: “Look, you won’t lose sleep. There’s a big problem with how we need to understand why we’re not fast,” Chanduk explained.
“I think it’s the first time Max came out and apologized. I’ve never heard of it after Mexico. I’ve never heard it in the past in the incident with Lewis. This means actually taking away what could actually be escalating.
