Verstappen: Barcelona Russell incident a mistake from my side

Verstappen was doing a bit of an audit of his season so far, as his chances to retain his Title following the Sao Paulo Grand Prix are now very slim after Lando Norris delivered a perfect weekend and is now 49 points ahead of the Dutchman in the Drivers' Championship.

Asked how he rated his season, which he spent wrangling a bucking Red Bull RB21, Verstappen insisted he performed well, a claim no one can dispute, but admitted his red mist moment in Barcelona amid frustration from a race where nothing was going his way.

As a quick reminder, Red Bull bolted Hard tyres on Verstappen's RB21 during a Safety Car period, which left him vulnerable to rivals on the restart as Charles Leclerc passed him with Russell also attacking.

After initial contact with the Mercedes, Verstappen went off track and rejoined ahead of it, and when asked by the team to give the place back, he went on and deliberately rammed it as he appeared to be handing the position back, after which he was slapped with a ten-second penalty, which meant a potential third-place finish ended up being tenth at the chequered flag.

Speaking to broadcaster Viaplay in São Paulo, Verstappen reflected: "The only point of criticism is obviously Barcelona.

"That move itself—and the entire incident—was not good, but that's also because I care a lot. I could have thought, 'This car isn't working anyway, so I let it go'.

"I can't accept—towards myself—stepping out of the car and knowing that I didn't give everything. Then I get angry with myself, so I can't drive at 80 percent.

"When I get out of the car, I always need to be able to tell to myself, 'I did everything I could'," he insisted, and then continued: "That's why I was so angry in Barcelona.

"First with what happened on the straight at the restart, then into Turn 1, and then of course when I was told to give the position back. That's when all signs went red.

"That was a mistake from my side, and of course I learn from it. Those moments won't happen again next year, even if we're in a similar situation with the car.

"These are the small things you learn from, but overall, in terms of performance, the season was absolutely good," the four-time F1 Champion concluded.