'I won't pay you' - McLaren F1 boss refused to pay injured driver

McLaren

'I won't pay you' - McLaren F1 boss refused to pay injured driver

By Sheona Mountford.

Friday 22 May 2026 21:00

A former McLaren F1 driver has claimed that Ron Dennis, who was their team boss at the time, would not pay a driver if they were injured.

Although safety standards in modern Formula 1 have improved enormously, motorsport still carries significant danger for competitors across a range of racing categories.

That risk was underlined during the Nurburgring 24 Hours Qualifiers, where a seven-car collision led to the death of 66-year-old Juha Miettinen, a tragic reminder that, despite major safety advances, motorsport remains inherently dangerous.

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Following the tragic accident, questions were raised about Verstappen's own participation at the Nurburgring, and whether Red Bull in particular were comfortable with him taking the risk.

Around this time, Juan Pablo Montoya questioned Red Bull's decision to let Verstappen race at the Nurburgring, and said on the MontoyAS podcast: "I know that what happened is terrible. Do you think Red Bull would reconsider what permission they give Max to race those cars?"

"There could be an accident, he could break his leg or arm. The money that Red Bull has invested in him should be enough reason to say, 'Look, we gave you the chance, but with this accident we are reconsidering it and we think that this should not happen'.

"Personally, I would have done it if I had been the boss of Red Bull."

Coulthard: Dennis refused to pay injured drivers

Verstappen's exploits at the Nurburgring were part of a discussion on the most recent Up to Speed podcast, where it was debated whether there should be a limit as to what drivers can do outside of F1.

During the podcast they also pointed to Robert Kubica, whose career came to a halt in Formula 1 after a rally crash in 2011, which was later revealed to be a particularly poignant moment as he had signed a pre-contract with Ferrari for 2012.

Former McLaren star David Coulthard offered his insight into the conundrum of letting drivers race elsewhere, by revealing Dennis' rule about injured drivers when he was in control of the team.

"When I started my career with Williams, it was very tight on all the things that I wasn't allowed to do outside of a race car," Coulthard explained.

"McLaren, I have to say, Ron Dennis had a very relaxed approach to that. Ron Dennis was the team principal and shareholder at McLaren who'd worked with Prost and Senna and Lauda and some of the greats before, so you would imagine he would be quite strict, but he was like, "If you're not able to race, I won't pay you." And maybe he thought that was incentive for a Scotsman not to be injured. You know, I'd want to be paid.

"But we would go winter training with him in the mountains in Courchevel skiing. And you'd think that would be something you wouldn't really encourage.

"So I think you can take two approaches. You either trust people and allow them to be themselves or you restrict people and then they start doing little naughty trips."

F1 McLaren David Coulthard Ron Dennis