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Horner fiercely responds to “utter nonsense” Ralf Schumacher's theory on Verstappen

21:54, 02 Jun

byTobia Elia

Christian Horner has responded to the accusations made by Ralf Schumacher, who claimed that Max Verstappen is deliberately sabotaging his own performances to trigger the alleged release clause in his contract.

At the end of the Spanish GP, speaking about what happened between the four-time world champion and George Russell during the race on Sky Deutschland, the former driver put forward a bizarre theory. According to him, Verstappen is trying to sabotage himself to trigger a clause that, according to various rumors, would allow him to leave Red Bull at the end of the year if he does not finish the championship in the top 3.

''One has to pay attention now'', he stated. ''Such a clause exists, why such things suddenly happen?''

''And why do you incur a penalty that is so unnecessary? It could also be that once you've made the decision for yourself, you no longer want to ensure that it remains that way''

Horner rejects the accusations

Caught directly on Schumacher's theory, Christian Horner firmly denied his claims in an interview with Bild, stating:''This theory is utter nonsense''.

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

At the moment, Verstappen is comfortably holding third place in the Drivers’ Championship, although he trails Lando Norris by 39 points. He has a 26-point lead over Russell, who has ironically closed the gap in the standings thanks to the contact with the Dutchman during the race.

The Dutchman is also at serious risk of suspension for the rest of the season, having accumulated 11 of the 12 available points on his FIA super license before facing a possible race ban.

However, Verstappen will at least be able to regain two points after June 30th, that is, right after the Austrian Grand Prix.