George Russell Gets Backed by Former World Champion After Max Verstappen Incident in Las Vegas: “Really Tough Situation”

George Russell and Max Verstappen came together during the Las Vegas GP on Saturday, which led to a five-second time penalty for the former. Despite having accepted the blame for the incident that led to the punishment, Russell receives backing from 2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button. Button feels the penalty on the Mercedes driver was harsh, as he had nowhere to go.

On lap 25 of the race in Las Vegas, Verstappen, who lost his lead due to his own penalty, was battling with Russell to charge up the field. While doing so, the two came together in an incident that seemed to be the Brit’s fault. Button, however, does not think so, because the move Verstappen attempted was in a very unexpected part of the circuit.

Max Verstappen 💥 George Russell 😳

The two drivers making contact in Vegas 🫣#LasVegasGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/SJNsinjxfJ

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 19, 2023

“That was a really strange incident,” Button said to Sky Sports. “Because it’s a bend where you don’t expect someone to come in. 

After Russell and Verstappen crashed, the latter lost a part of his front wing, which seemed to have affected his attempt to win the Las Vegas GP. Race officials did not take a lot of time in deciding that Russell deserved a five-second time penalty for the same. Jenson Button, on the other hand, thinks that neither Verstappen nor Russell can be blamed for what happened on Saturday.

No culprit in Max Verstappen George Russell incident

Verstappen’s move on Russell took the latter by surprise, which is what led to the collision. Still, Button thinks that what happened in Vegas was purely an unavoidable racing incident.

“I don’t know where George had to go,” the former Brawn GP driver continued. “I mean, he could have gone straight to get out of the way. But it’s a really tough situation he was in. However, Max was also in a position where he felt he had to go for it.”

Let’s gooo guys!!! 💪 Another amazing result @redbullracing 👏

Had a lot of fun out there today, great racing! 🙌 See you next year Vegas 🎲🎰 pic.twitter.com/MGxLOoOhrq

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) November 19, 2023

Russell too had damage to his wheel cover and in addition to Verstappen’s own front-wing damage, the debris on the track was enough for the safety car to come out. That was particularly important for Verstappen as he could pit, and rejoin the pack which allowed him to continue his charge.

In the end, Verstappen prevailed. The three-time world champion won the Las Vegas GP, finishing ahead of Charles Leclerc in P2 and teammate Sergio Perez in P3. Russell meanwhile, finished in P8.