Russell's sudden move against 'cheeky' Verstappen labelled as 'Take this you sucker!' message

Several days have now passed since the thrilling Canadian Grand Prix, won by George Russell, who secured his first victory of the season.

Yet, media attention has focused not only on the unfortunate incident between the two McLarens but also on the controversial episode involving Max Verstappen and George Russell.

We’re talking, of course, about what happened under the Safety Car in the final stages of the race, when the British driver suddenly braked sharply, causing his rival to briefly overtake him.

This sparked a heated radio exchange between the two teams, with Red Bull deciding to pursue the matter further by filing a double protest in an attempt to strip driver number 63 of his victory. However, the protests were ultimately dismissed, allowing Russell and Mercedes to celebrate their success.

But why did Russell brake sharply even though he knew the race wouldn’t restart? Was there really an intention to trap Verstappen into a penalty, possibly leading to the infamous race ban that’s been talked about for weeks?

Nico Rosberg, speaking about the matter via the Sky F1 podcast, tried to understand the reason behind Russell's sudden braking towards,

According to the former German driver, the British driver wanted to send a very clear message to his rival: ''When you're in safety car and you see Max Verstappen being cheeky and trying to make you nervous by making himself really big right next to you in that mirror, in the exact spot where the mirror is facing''.