Max Verstappen accused of 'telling tales' as clever Miami GP moment sparked FIA protest

was 'telling tales out of school' by reporting for failing to lift under yellow flag conditions at the Miami Grand Prix," according to . The Mercedes driver was subject to a protest after the race, although this was thrown out by the FIA, who opted against hitting the Brit with a time penalty.

Verstappen was on course for a podium finish in Miami before an unfortunately timed virtual safety car allowed Russell to get the jump on him through the pit cycle. With the Mercedes man just in front of him on track, the reigning world champion used all of the tools in his toolbox to try to earn the position back. When yellow flags were brought out following a power unit failure for Gabriel Bortoleto, Verstappen believed that Russell failed to slow down sufficiently in the affected zone. "Check if George lifted," he told race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase. "It was yellow."

Ultimately, Verstappen got close to the rear wing of Russell but never managed to breach the Brit's one-second buffer, meaning he was unable to launch a serious attack with the help of DRS. Mercedes' driver held on for his fourth podium of the season, closing the gap in the battle for third in the Drivers' Championship standings.

Assessing the difference between third and fourth in Miami, co-commentator Brundle wrote in his column: "Russell had been struggling through the event, seemingly missing a couple of tenths of pace, but he kept his head, car, and tyres together with solid momentum along with a well-timed one and only pit stop to secure yet another podium.

"What nearly let him down was his stomach, with some painful cramping in the final 15 laps. Russell had benefited from also pitting on lap 29 under the VSC and moving up to third place, but Max Verstappen kept him very honest throughout the closing phases, even telling tales out of school that George hadn't lifted the throttle when passing a yellow flag.

"The Red Bull team escalated this after the race with a protest, one which the Stewards denied when saying 'the protest is rejected and not founded'."

This wasn't the first time that Verstappen's eagle-eyed instincts had earned a rival a brush with the FIA in 2025. In Bahrain, the 27-year-old reported Lando Norris for starting outside of his grid box, and after a brief check by the stewards, the McLaren driver was hit with a five-second time penalty.