ALLEGEDLY*
THE MORGUECASE CLOSEDSeptember 8, 2026
▶ PLAY THIS CASE BLIND Loads the redacted lede with the answer hidden. Three strikes, same as the day it ran.

Max Verstappen's Spanish GP penalty for hitting George Russell

On a safety-car restart at the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix this Dutch driver chasing a fifth straight title steered into a rival and collected a ten-second penalty — and three licence points that left him one point from an automatic race ban.

The full story

At the Spanish Grand Prix on 1 June 2025, Max Verstappen collided with George Russell at Turn 5 following a safety-car restart. FIA stewards gave him a ten-second penalty that dropped him to tenth, plus three super-licence penalty points leaving him one short of an automatic ban. He later accepted blame.

The clues we handed out

— The rival was George Russell, and it happened at Turn 5.

— The penalty dropped him from fifth to tenth on 1 June 2025.

— He accepted the blame publicly afterwards, calling the move the wrong one.

— He won his first championship on the last lap in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

— Initials: M.V.

How this case played

ALLEGEDLY* edition No. 45. Three strikes to name Max Verstappen, with a free clue unlocked after every miss.

Where this comes from

Every case on this site is drawn from the public record. These are the records for this one.

planetf1.com

skysports.com

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*A blind item you can check. Every puzzle is drawn from the public record — court records, official rulings, and moments that unfolded on live television — and the records are linked above. Allegedly.
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