The real reason behind Verstappen's crash with Russell – More than just a tyre choice

Undoubtedly, Red Bull were not happy with the way Verstappen reacted in the final stages of the Spanish Grand Prix on Sunday, after he received a set of hard tyres for the Safety Car restart, which led to a seemingly certain third place slip from his hands. In the collision with George Russell, the Dutchman then obviously crossed the line, but - however difficult it may be - also look at everything from Verstappen's point of view.

It wasn't the hard tyres or the call to let Russell pass that led to frustrations overtaking Verstappen and him crashing into the Mercedes driver. No, the core of everything is much deeper and goes far beyond a decision in the closing stages of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Verstappen is a true winner, one who has become accustomed to dominating Formula 1 from the front of the field. But that's no longer possible, since McLaren have the upper hand and Red Bull have no idea how to solve the many technical challenges.

For over a year, Verstappen has been calling for change, but - though his concerns are certainly being listened to - nothing seems to improve the situation. And yes, on a day when you see a podium place disappear and you think about everything that has happened over the past year, a person can reach their limit. Nothing human is alien to Max Verstappen.

That Red Bull subsequently did not publicly reprimand their driver is also understandable. After all, Verstappen is the man who currently still brings some success to the Austrian team. Red Bull cannot afford Verstappen to have had enough at some point that he walks out the door in Milton Keynes. And yes, Red Bull surely also realises what the underlying cause of Verstappen's outburst is.

Eventually, a night's sleep was needed, but Verstappen has apologised for his action during the Spanish Grand Prix. That's how Max is; emotional at times, but also honest enough to say 'sorry' when he's done something wrong. Here and there, speculation now arises about when and how those apologies were made, but that really does not matter at all. For Red Bull and Verstappen, everything is settled and the focus is now fully on the race in Canada.