George Russell vs Max Verstappen F1 Rivalry Takes New Twist at Canadian GP 2025 as Red Bull Accuse Mercedes of 'Unsportsmanlike Conduct'

The Canadian GP 2025 Formula 1 race was all about the battle between Mercedes driver George Russell and Red Bull's Max Verstappen, as the former started P1 on the grid and the latter P2. In the end it was Russell who took the win behind the Safety Car after a late collision between McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, but Russell's win was very nearly thrown out due to a protest launched by Red Bull Racing.

The Mercedes F1 team driver was accused of ‘unsportsmanlike conduct’ when he braked late and inadvertendly allowed Verstappen to overtake him - something that isn't allowed under Safety Car rules and could have seen the Dutchman penalised. 

However, the Canadian GP stewards took a very different view of the matter and Russell's win stood as a result. 

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Why Stewards Dismissed Red Bull's Complaint

Red Bull's complaint claimed that Russell had braked erratically on the straights as he looked to deliberately get Verstappen to overtake and potentially get a penalty, and it was there that the ‘unsportsmanlike’ tag was used. 

However, Mercedes showed telemetry and braking data that proved both Russell and Verstappen were braking in the same areas and Russell did not brake harder at the time of the incident. 

The stewards agreed with that assessment and it was why Russell was allowed to keep the win, hours after the podium celebrations had taken place. 

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Russell's Excellent Race Overshadowed

It was in many ways a shame that the threat of a race win being revoked hung over the British driver, because in many ways he drove the perfect race. 

He led from Verstappen after Turn 1 and stayed ahead even after both pit stops as Mercedes covered the undercut threat from the Red Bull driver well. 

In the end, Verstappen did threaten Russell briefly but the latter stayed ahead comfortably and never looked in any serious danger over the 70 laps of the race.