‘All hell broke loose’ - Helmut Marko’s rare criticism of Max Verstappen

Helmut Marko has confessed he could not understand Max Verstappen’s thinking during his controversial clash with George Russell at the F1 Spanish Grand Prix.

Verstappen was given a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with Russell at Turn 5 as they battled for fourth place in the closing stages of Sunday’s race at Barcelona.

The Red Bull driver appeared to be following orders to let Russell through following an earlier tangle at Turn 1, only to accelerate and drive into the side of his rival at Turn 5.

Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has described Verstappen’s actions as being “unnecessary” and a “misjudgement”.

“On the straight, I’d say Leclerc drove into Max’s car,” Marko told ServusTV in an interview on Monday night.

“Then came the situation with Russell. And you have to say, Max knows the regulations in detail. He immediately said, ‘Hey, he was out of control, and that’s why I had to go wide.’

“The internal discussion was that it was 50-50. And since it happened right after the safety car period, the impact of a 10-second penalty is much greater than if it happens mid-race. So, that was one thing. Max didn’t want to give the position back. But he was instructed to do so – he did it under protest.

“Max lifted off the throttle, so we all assumed he was letting Russell through. And then suddenly he accelerated again. I don’t know what kind of misjudgment or thought process was going on inside him. And then, as they say, all hell broke loose.”

Emotions got the better of Max Verstappen 

On Verstappen’s clash with Russell, Marko added: “There have already been issues in the past. It was unnecessary, and a lot of points lost. But, because of all the incidents and wrong decisions that unfortunately happened, emotions simply got the better of him.

“Don’t forget – he’s already got a bit of a feud going on with Russell.

“Everyone goes their own way. And when Max is in a mood like that, the best thing is to leave him alone.”

Having initially brushed off the incident in his post-race interviews, Verstappen admitted in a post on Instagram on Monday morning that he had made a mistake after becoming frustrated by the events leading up to the contact.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner also revealed on Monday that Verstappen had apologised to the team for his behaviour in their post-race debrief.

Verstappen crossed the line in fifth place but was demoted to 10th as a result of the post-race penalty. The result marks a huge blow to the four-time world champion’s hopes of winning a fifth successive world title this year.

The Dutchman is now 49 points adrift of championship leader Oscar Piastri, who led a McLaren 1-2 to make it five victories in nine races. 

Verstappen is also left walking a tightrope as he is just one penalty point away from serving a one-race ban.