Helmut Marko hits out at Ralf Schumacher’s ‘nonsense’ theory for Max Verstappen’s crash with George Russell in Spain

Max Verstappen is now on the verge of having an automatic race ban after the Red Bull driver’s penalty for crashing into George Russell during the 2025 Spanish Grand Prix.

Tensions flared late in the day at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Sunday, as Red Bull told Verstappen to yield track position to Russell in fear of a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage. Yet the stewards had decided against punishing him over the incident.

Russell had sought to take advantage of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc overtaking Verstappen after the Dutchman’s poor restart from the safety car on Lap 61 of 66. But the Mercedes ace briefly lost control of his W16 at the apex of Turn 1 in the dirty air behind the Scuderia racer.

Verstappen disagreed with Red Bull’s call to give fourth place back to Russell after justifiably staying ahead by using the designated re-join part. Emotions then got the better of the four-time drivers’ champion, so Verstappen drove into Russell on Lap 64 of the Spanish GP at T5.

Helmut Marko slams claims Max Verstappen is trying to get a race ban to trigger his Red Bull exit clause

Now, Red Bull need their driver to get through the upcoming Canadian and Austrian Grands Prix without an incident as Verstappen drew three penalty points for crashing into Russell in Spain. His penalty puts the 27-year-old just one point away from an automatic one-race ban.

But Ralf Schumacher thinks Verstappen also had an ulterior motive. He told Sky Germany at the Spanish GP whilst debating the incident with Russell: “You have to pay attention to why such things happen and why he gets an unnecessary penalty when there’s a clause.”

READ MORE: How many penalty points does every 2025 Formula 1 driver have?

Red Bull motorsport adviser Helmut Marko has now shot down that accusation, which came after reports that Verstappen plans to stay at Red Bull regardless of his exit clause. He would be free to leave if Verstappen slips outside of the top three in the F1 drivers’ championship.

“I don’t know why he said that nonsense,” Marko told OE24. “But Max could handle it much more elegantly. Other alleged exit clauses are popping up everywhere [but] none of that is relevant at the moment. The next time I meet him [Schumacher], I’ll tell him straight away.”

When could Max Verstappen receive an automatic race ban after his Spanish GP crash?

Red Bull now run the risk of being without Verstappen at the team’s home race, the Austrian Grand Prix on June 29, or the British Grand Prix on July 6. The Dutchman receiving one point at the Canadian Grand Prix on June 15 would automatically give Verstappen a one-race ban.

Verstappen would also need to get through the Austrian GP without a penalty, if he can get through the meet in Montreal without any issues. His three penalty points for crashing into Russell in the Spanish GP moved Verstappen onto 11 when 12 draws an automatic race ban.

But he will lose two of his 11 at the Red Bull Ring, after drawing a penalty when Verstappen crashed into Lando Norris in the 2024 Austrian GP. He will not lose another until October 27 before the Mexico City Grand Prix, and could have drawn another penalty in Barcelona, too.

Also, Schumacher criticised Verstappen and Leclerc for being poor role models in Spain after their brush on the pit straight. The former Williams F1 star thinks it was ‘dangerous’ of them to risk a crash by trying to force the other to one side of the road to try and get a slipstream.