A bemused George Russell said he "did not understand the rationale" from Max Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix. During the final few laps of the Spanish Grand Prix, a late safety car meant that the Dutchman was on much slower hard tyres compared to the rest of the grid around him, putting him on the back foot.
Verstappen slid on the restart, allowing Charles Leclerc to easily pass before turn 1, while Russell also had a look up the inside, forcing the Red Bull driver off track and onto the escape road.
After rejoining the track ahead of Russell, Verstappen was then told to let the Brit back in front, which then led to the Dutchman swerving into the Mercedes driver, resulting in a ten-second time penalty.
Verstappen and Russell have come to blows several times, with this collision another flashpoint in their rivalry.
Russell saw an "unnecessary" move from Verstappen
Along with the ten-second time penalty that dropped Verstappen from P5 to P10, the Dutchman also received three penalty points on his license, meaning he is now onto 11 and one away from a Grand Prix ban.
"He's a hard racer, simple as that, and he's sort of win it or win-it-or-bin-it kind of guy," the Mercedes driver started by saying to Channel 4.
"Obviously, the last few years he's been out in front, so we've probably not seen it for so long, but we've all been racing Max for quite a long time, since 2011. That's just his style.
"I'm not going to say anything negative about it because he's a four-time world champion, and I'm a zero-time world champion, so he's clearly doing something right. But there are obviously a lot of young kids who look up to all of the F1 drivers," continued the Brit on the role models that drivers should be out on the track.
"You see things like he did in Imola, and you have got to take your hat off. But then, you see things like today, and it just seemed a little bit unnecessary, and I don't really understand the rationale.
"But as I said, we've got to focus on our stuff, and that's making the car go faster," concluded Russell.
This article was written in collaboration with Hidde Korte