Max Verstappen has broken his silence following a dramatic Spanish Grand Prix that ended with a shocking revelation—leaked telemetry data confirming his controversial maneuver against George Russell. With FIA officials now taking further disciplinary action, Verstappen is officially facing a suspension from the upcoming Grand Prix.

The chaos began with a brilliant strategy call from Verstappen that was derailed by a late-race Safety Car. What followed was a controversial sequence involving the Red Bull star, George Russell, and Charles Leclerc. At first glance, it appeared to be classic hard racing. But when telemetry data surfaced post-race, everything changed.

The data, leaked to a journalist shortly after the race, showed that Verstappen lifted off to give the place back to Russell—only to hit full throttle again and lunge toward the Mercedes driver in an aggressive retake attempt, just seconds later. According to FIA regulations, a driver returning a position may not attack again for at least two corners.

Reacting to the leaked data and growing public scrutiny, Verstappen said in a post-race media session:

“I gave the position back fairly. That was the agreement with my engineer. What happened next was just racing. But if they’re going to penalize drivers for trying to fight, what are we even doing here?”

However, the FIA wasn’t convinced. Following an internal review and public outcry—especially after Russell and other teams presented the telemetry logs—the governing body issued an official statement:

“The FIA considers the maneuver between Turns 4 and 5 in breach of Article 20.2 of the Sporting Regulations. After examining newly surfaced data, the Stewards have determined that the driver failed to comply with the mandatory cooldown clause after conceding position and initiated a renewed overtaking maneuver prematurely.”

“As a result of the breach, and given the accumulation of penalty points, the driver of Car 1 will serve a one-race ban at the next event.”

With 11 penalty points already on his super licence, this additional infraction pushed Verstappen past the 12-point threshold—automatically triggering a one-race suspension.

George Russell, who had earlier called for harsher penalties, didn’t hold back in his assessment after the FIA announcement:

“I don’t have anything personal against Max, but rules are rules. That kind of move sets a dangerous precedent, and I think the FIA made the right call.”

The suspension means Verstappen will miss the Canadian Grand Prix—a massive blow to both his Drivers’ Championship ambitions and Red Bull’s already-tight Constructors’ Championship battle with McLaren and Ferrari.

With tensions escalating and championship standings tightening, the Spanish GP may have marked a pivotal turning point—not just for Verstappen’s season, but for how F1 enforces racing conduct moving forward.