Max Verstappen's seemingly intentional collision with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix provided one of the most shocking moments of the season. But that was only the start of the controversy. Since the race, debate has raged on about how Verstappen should have been punished, and whether the penalties he was given were appropriate.

As it happened, the reigning four-time world champion was given a 10-second time penalty which dropped him down to a 10th-place finish. He also received three penalty points on his superlicense, leaving him one slip-up over the next two Grands Prix away from a one-race ban.

But many feel that Verstappen should have been given an even sterner punishment by the FIA. Ex-F1 racer Johnny Herbert, who worked as a steward until the start of this year, insists that he should have been disqualified immediately.

"Max Verstappen deserved a black flag and should have been disqualified," he told RoobetAlternatives. "There's a point where you have to be hard on the driver, when there have been many of these types of incidents.

"It was clear as day that Verstappen's move on George Russell was on purpose. He backed out at the right corner, where he could then attack and retake the place by driving into Russell. To me, that's overstepping the mark.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again until I'm blue in the face, Verstappen doesn't need to make these moves. He has the skill to make clear overtakes, and the wheel-banging is probably to make a point because of what happened at Turn 1 on the restart with Russell. He felt aggrieved at having to give the place back.

"A black flag is something that could have been thought of by the stewards and the race director, you have to stop this wheel-banging type of racing. Anyone can go and crash into another car, it's totally wrong to purposely bang into a fellow driver. It can't just be a 10-second penalty, otherwise you're treating it like any other racing incident."

Verstappen dodged questions about the collision after the race. He admitted the move 'was not right' and 'should not have happened' in a social media post on Monday, but stopped short of directly apologising to Russell.

The Red Bull star has slipped to 49 points behind Drivers' Championship leader Oscar Piastri, who is battling McLaren team-mate Lando Norris in what now appears to be a two-horse race for this year's title.