Ralf Schumacher slams 'nonsense' after Max Verstappen Red Bull exit fallout

Former F1 star Ralf Schumacher has hit out at German media, after a joke theory posed by the 49-year-old at the Spanish Grand Prix landed him in hot water with Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

Max Verstappen was involved in a controversial moment in Spain, when he appeared to intentionally crash into the Mercedes of George Russell, which landed him a 10-second time penalty.

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Verstappen has been heavily criticized by media for his role in the incident, with Schumacher even posing an incredulous theory.

Schumacher suggested 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 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 claims 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 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.

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