The Helmut Marko of Red Bull rejects the external theory of Ralf Schumacher Max Verstappen

Helmut Marko rejected Ralf Schumacher’s claims, suggesting that Max Verstappen may have caused a collision with George Russell to trigger an outing clause in his contract. Red Bull’s senior advisor described the non -relevant theory and expressed the desire to face the former F1 driver for comments.

Schumacher had hypothesized that Verstappen could have an exit clause allowing him to leave the team if he falls outside the first three in the pilot championship. He suggested that the Dutch move against Russell in the Spanish GP could have taken over frustration with the Red Bull Car and his desire to leave the team.

Marko firmly rejected the theory, saying that there had been excessive speculation around any exit clause in the Verstappen contract. He described the idea of ​​nonsense and stressed that if Verstappen really wanted to activate such a clause, he would have much more rational means than to intentionally penetrate with a competitor.

Asked about Schumacher’s theory about Max Verstappen’s exit clause in the contract, Marko said (via OE24):

“I don’t know where he said this nonsense. But Max could fix it in a much more elegant way. ”

Asked about the theory according to which if Max Verstappen has an exit clause which forces him to be outside the top three of the pilot championship, Marko replied:

“Other alleged exit clauses appear everywhere. All this is not relevant for the moment.”

When asked if he would face Schumacher about his theory, the veteran of Red Bull said:

“The next time I meet him, I will tell him.”

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Helmut Marko thinks that Red Bull’s performance is more worrying than Max Verstappen’s incident with George Russell

Helmut Marko believes that the overall performance of Red Bull was more worrying than Max Verstappen’s incident with George Russell during the Spanish GP. He said that the team was three tenths of second slower than McLaren and noted that their tire life was shorter in Barcelona.

Red Bull’s senior advisor suggested that Verstappen has become demotivated in the pilot championship and seems to resign from the fight. Marko stressed the importance of not abandoning but admitted that the car needed significant improvement.

He also pointed out that Red Bull cannot only count on Verstappen when the competition is also tight. According to him, the quadruple world champion needs a competitive car to challenge a strong opponent like McLaren, who currently has a more versatile package.

Marko said about the performance of Red Bull at the Spanish GP:

“Our car is not fast enough. It bothers me even more than Max’s action. We are still three tenths behind McLaren.”

When asked if he was too pessimistic, he replied:

“Nevertheless, we are at least three tenths behind speed. In Barcelona, ​​we saw that our tires wear out after ten laps, while McLaren was gaining ground.”

When asked if Max Verstappen slowly resigns from the driver’s struggle, Marko said:

“It’s like that. I try to straighten it: we don’t give up, but something must be done with the car.”

Recalled that they had relied on the Max Verstappen factor when they were on the back with performance, he replied:

“But not against such a strong opponent. The McLarens are strong on each track. But you are right: the car must be competitive, then Max obtains the rest.”

Max Verstappen is currently third in the pilot championship with a total of 137 points. He is 39 points from Lando Norris, who is second and 49 Oscar Piastri points, who heads the championship.

With Red Bull struggling with the performance of the start of the 2025 season, the Dutchman made the difference on the slopes with his talent. However, the days he escapes, the loss of points is important. The Red Bull RB21 has not adapted all the circuits, while McLaren has a car that suits each track, underlined a Marko point.

Red Bull’s main fight was the narrow car performance window, which makes it difficult to drive and extract the maximum potential of. Current upgrades do not pay significant dividends, they are in a race against time to reverse their performance problems.