Jun 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Mercedes driver George Russell (63) races ahead of Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images

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FIA Rejects Red Bull Racing’s Plea to Penalise George Russell!

George Russell retains his victory in Canada after Red Bull Racing lodge complaint against him

The Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix was exciting for the fans awaiting racing this weekend. The entire Grand Prix was full of incidents from start to end. Unfortunately, the race came to an end under safety car conditions. A crash from Lando Norris disrupted racing action for the last four laps.

Initially, there was a lot of talk surrounding Max Verstappen and George Russell. The duo was starting on front row after a controversial incident in Spain. Although, much to everyone’s surprise there was no aggressive between Russell and Max. It was partly due to the fact that Russell did not fumble his start. But, the pair did come dangerously close to another incident during the safety car laps.

George Russell Won’t Be Investigated for Safety Car Incident

In the closing moments of the race, the safety car drove drivers through the pit lane. While making his exit, George Russell went slower than expected. Max Verstappen did not expect this move behind him. He immediately passed Russell.

George Russell and Max Verstappen took to the radio to complain about the situation. Red Bull Racing informed Max that it was just mind games from the race leader. Russell on the other hand accused Max of overtaking under safety car.

🚨| FIA rejects Red Bull’s protest against George Russell 🚫

— Red Bull Racing had lodged a formal complaint accusing Car 63 of erratic driving and unsportsmanlike conduct during the Safety Car period, claiming he accused Max Verstappen of overtaking illegally. But after review,… pic.twitter.com/q92VxdTYsr
— This is Formula 1 (@ThisIsFormu1a1) June 16, 2025

In their claim Red Bull Racing said-

“During a Safety Car deployment the driver of Car 63 had braked unnecessarily along the back straight between Turns 12 and 13 as a result of which Car 1, which was following Car 63, overtook Car 63 and then dropped back behind Car 63 after Car 63 accelerated.”

They also brought up Russell’s complaint over the radio calling it “unsportsmanlike behaviour”. After the two teams were summoned, Russell gave a factual answer regarding the situation.

He quoted the fact that periodic braking is necessary to keep the temperatures optimal. Also, he braked at the moment to increase his distance to the safety car. FIA agreed with George Russell, prompting rejecting Red Bull Racing’s complaints.

The two teams have not released any official report about the incident. Russell will retain his Canadian GP 2025 victory. Although, Red Bull Racing may feel sour about the same. According to the Milton Keynes outfit, Max Verstappen was deliberately provoked into getting ahead. Nevertheless, with the stewards clarifying the situation, there should no more complaints regarding the same.

Canadian GP Results

Formula 1

Formula 1 2025 Season

George Russell

Max Verstappen

Mercedes Formula 1 Team

Red Bull Racing

Rohan Singh

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I work as a Writer at The Playoffs specialising in NHL, Formula 1 and Motorsports. I got into online journalism a couple of years ago. I used to be an intern for a website managing their Formula 1 content and then I served an entire year as a contractual writer.