Ralf Schumacher hits back after Christian Horner F1 fallout

Schumacher, Waché, Horner, socials — Photo: © IMAGO

Red Bull

Ralf Schumacher hits back after Christian Horner F1 fallout

A miscommunication prompted fury from Christian Horner

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Monday 9 June 2025 18:05

Ralf Schumacher has spoken out after a miscommunication exploded into a F1 fallout between the German and Christian Horner following the Spanish Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen and George Russell were at the centre of controversy in Barcelona, when the Red Bull star appeared to collide into his Mercedes rival on purpose.

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The move was heavily criticised in the media after the race, with Sky Germany pundit Schumacher delivering an outlandish claim that Verstappen crashed into Russell on purpose to receive a penalty, and thus only leave Spain with one point.

Schumacher continued that Verstappen wanted to drop below the top four in the drivers’ standings to activate an exit clause in his Red Bull contract, which does not expire until 2028.

The German media then picked this claim up with tabloid publication Bild posing the comments to Christian Horner, who branded them as ‘nonsense’.

Schumacher's alleged comments also drew the ire of Red Bull chief Helmut Marko, who revealed that he planned to confront Schumacher about his theory.

However, Schumacher has recently hit out at Bild, who he believes have miscommunicated the entire situation, and forced the pundit to clarify his original comments from Sky's broadcast on social media.

The former F1 driver posted a video to his Instagram from Sky Germany’s broadcast in Barcelona, in which Schumacher smiled as he relayed the theory about Verstappen and was clearly joking about the champion crashing on purpose.

Alongside the video, Schumacher also wrote a caption where he hit back directly at Bild and read: “Dear Bild, maybe listen properly before spreading nonsense.”

Schumacher sets the record straight after Verstappen theory posed

Horner and Red Bull are yet to respond to Schumacher’s defence, but the team principal was initially incensed by the comments put forward by the pundit.

"This theory is the biggest nonsense possible,” Horner said to Bild.

"I haven't heard anything so stupid for a long time. Max is a racer through and through. He always wants to win and would never act like that."

Whilst it was delivered in a jovial manner, Schumacher illuminated Verstappen’s alleged Red Bull exit clause which has resulted in intrigue about the details of the champion’s contract.

The exit clause reportedly allows Verstappen to leave Red Bull if he is outside of the top four in the championship after the 2025 Austrian GP.

Red Bull's downturn in form over the past 12 months has given rise to speculation Verstappen could activate this clause, enabling him to switch to a rival team - although the champion has frequently asserted in the media that he will serve out his contract with Red Bull.

Verstappen’s 10-second time penalty at the Spanish GP has seen the Dutchman slip even further behind Oscar Piastri who sits at the top of the standings, with 49 points separating them.

However, the 27-year-old remains third in the championship and 26 points above Russell in fourth as F1 heads into the Canadian GP race weekend.

F1 Max Verstappen Christian Horner George Russell Helmut Marko Spanish Grand Prix