The FIA stewards have thrown out the protest of Red Bull Racing after the F1 Canadian GP, meaning George Russell keeps his victory over Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli.
During the Safety Car period at the end of the Grand Prix to clear Lando Norris’ McLaren, George Russell aggressively got on the brakes as he potentially looked to keep them warm, and it meant Max Verstappen briefly overtook him as he was not hard on the anchors.
It was clear Red Bull did not like what they saw. A protest was lodged as they looked to get the Brit a penalty for his actions. However, that was thrown out after the pair had visited the stewards.
FIA stewards verdict on Russell against Verstappen at the F1 Canadian GP
“We accept the driver of car 63 [Russell’s] explanation of the incident and we are satisfied that the driver of car 63 did not drive erratically by braking where he did or to the extent he did.
“We are not satisfied that by simply reporting to his team that car one had overtaken that he engaged in unsportsmanlike conduct.
“Even though the protest did not allege it, we are also satisfied that by braking where and when he did and to the extent he did, the driver of car 63 did not engage in unsportsmanlike conduct.”
Victory for George Russell in the F1 Canadian GP has moved him to within 19 points of Max Verstappen for P3 in the Drivers’ Championship. The Brit trails championship leader Oscar Piastri by 62 as he bagged his fourth win in Formula 1.
Heading into the Austrian GP, Max Verstappen remains on 11 penalty points. The Dutchman had a strong and clean weekend in Montreal as he took six points out of Oscar Piastri in the standings, and gained 18 points on Lando Norris.
