Nico Rosberg demands Max Verstappen disqualified from Spanish GP

demanded 's instant disqualification from the following a clash with Mercedes star George Russell. The two drivers came together towards the closing stages of the race after the reigning champion defied team orders and refused to allow the Briton to pass him.

Verstappen has struggled to compete Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris this season, with his Red Bull car failing to keep up with the offering from McLaren. The 27-year-old has kept himself in the title race, however, and started the Spanish Grand Prix in P3 behind his two title rivals following a .

Verstappen kept himself in the mix for victory in Barcelona as drivers were forced to contend with a late Safety Car. But shortly after the restart, the four-time world champion thought he had been impeded by Ferrari star Charles Leclerc as the pair came together.

The incident allowed Russell to steal a march on the Dutchman as he snuck in on the inside. But Verstappen responded by going off the track and regaining the advantage.

The Red Bull man was then told over his team radio: "Max, can you let Russell through please. My advice is to let him through."

An angry Verstappen claimed he had been run off the road and refused to cede his position as Russell attempted to move past him on a corner. And the two cars ended up colliding, before Russell slotted back in behind.

"He needs to get the black flag immediately. He just crashed into Russell on purpose," Rosberg hissed on Sky Sports.

"Wow, that's bad, bad, bad. He just rammed him full on. You need to black flag him. Max was right in the first instance and then the team went against Max and caused him to boil over. He just rams him, you need to black flag that right away."

The stewards opted to side with Russell following the incident as Verstappen was ultimately . And the sanction meant the Dutchman was eventually demoted to 10th place.

Piastri went on to win the Spanish Grand Prix as he finished just under two-and-a-half seconds ahead of team-mate Norris to bag his fifth victory of the campaign. The result puts the Australian 10 points ahead of Norris at the top of the Drivers' Championship standings.

And Norris later joked about the clash between Verstappen and Russell in the cool down room as he exclaimed: "I've done that before - in Mario Kart."