Verstappen: Marko Admits “Serious Error” After Spanish GP Crash; Risk of Sanction?

Marko Analyzes the Verstappen-Russell Incident in Spain

Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, has acknowledged that the collision between Max Verstappen and George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix was a “serious error of judgment.” Despite this, he maintains confidence that the current champion will not be sanctioned with a ban from competing. Verstappen’s frustration during the race led him to collide with Russell’s car, after the Red Bull team instructed him to yield the position to the Mercedes driver. Although Verstappen avoided speaking directly about the incident in the post-race interviews, he published a statement on social media on Monday, admitting that the maneuver “was not correct and should not have happened”. Marko, close to Verstappen at Red Bull, agreed that the champion had a moment of lack of judgment.

“Max suddenly accelerated and then all hell broke loose,” Marko declared to Servus TV. “It was a serious error of judgment.”

Helmut Marko

Marko added that “he disagreed with Russell. With incidents and bad decisions, emotions have been exacerbated. Reflecting on it certainly helped. Each one goes their own way. When Max is in that mood, it’s best to leave him alone”.

Verstappen received a 10-second penalty for the crash, which relegated him to tenth place in the final race standings, in addition to receiving three penalty points on his super license from the stewards. Currently, Verstappen has a total of 11 penalty points on his super license, which means that another misjudgment in the next two races would result in 12 points within a 12-month period and a ban from competing. However, Marko trusts that Verstappen will be able to control any frustration within the cockpit and avoid a suspension.

“The punishment is appropriate,” added Marko. “It won’t happen that he misbehaves in Canada and then doesn’t start in Austria. He is a racer who knows his limits.”

Helmut Marko

Marko also commented that the difference between Red Bull and the championship leaders, McLaren, was greater than expected in Spain, but he expects it to be reduced in the next race in Canada. “The whole weekend was sobering for us,” he said. “Basically, we were three tenths of a second off with a car that was too slow. We thought we were on par. We saw again that McLaren is far superior.” “We hope our car will be competitive again in Canada. At the moment, Max Verstappen doesn’t have a car with which he can become world champion.” “But only he can deal with that for the moment. If everything fits, we’ll be as fast as McLaren.” “But that only happens every three or four races. McLaren is always there. We still haven’t given up, but it’s going to be difficult.”