Horner criticizes the 'nonsense' conspiracy theory surrounding Verstappen.

      "I haven't encountered anything this ridiculous in a long time."

      Christian Horner has criticized a bizarre conspiracy theory surrounding Max Verstappen's crash with George Russell in the final moments of the Spanish GP. Many honest insiders agree that the four-time world champion intentionally made contact with Russell as he let the Mercedes driver re-pass. Even Verstappen acknowledged it, stating, "Yes, it was done to me too," as reported by Belgian broadcaster Play Sports.

      Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko said on Servus TV on Monday: "Max lifted off the throttle, which is evident from the telemetry, and then he accelerated again. That was a miscalculation, and then chaos ensued." At the time, Verstappen maintained he had no regrets, commenting, "I can’t do anything about it, so you just need to move on. Life goes on, right? I’m not in the championship anyway."

      When asked if he felt any pressure considering the increasing gap to McLaren and being just one point away from a race ban, he replied simply, "No." Verstappen, 27, left Barcelona without formally apologizing for his actions, though he came close with an Instagram post on Monday. "Our tire strategy for the remainder of the race and some actions after the safety car restart fueled my frustration, leading to an incorrect maneuver that shouldn’t have happened," he wrote. "I always give my all for the team, and emotions can run high."

      In a post on his own Instagram, team principal Christian Horner noted, "Max apologized during the debrief for his incident with Russell." However, former Mercedes engine chief Norbert Haug was unimpressed. "As far as I’m concerned, two very simple words are missing at the end of Verstappen’s message - 'Sorry, George,'" the German stated. "And perhaps he should also apologize to the race management. He is a driver to admire, which he rightly is. There’s no doubt he is the best driver at the moment and has been for quite some time. But he needs to conduct himself appropriately."

      Following the events on Sunday, Horner criticized two of Verstappen's most vocal detractors. Former Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg immediately called for the Red Bull driver's disqualification from the race, and Horner described the 2016 world champion's comments as "sensationalist." Ralf Schumacher even suggested that Verstappen may have crashed into Russell purposefully to attract a penalty, potentially incurring a race ban, and to escape from third place in the championship, thus activating his known contract exit clause. Horner told Bild newspaper, "This theory is complete nonsense. I haven’t heard anything this absurd in a long time. Max is a true racer; he always aims to win and would never act in such a manner."

      Regarding former F1 driver Schumacher's comments, he reiterated that the late-race incidents on Sunday demonstrated that Verstappen has essentially given up on capturing a fifth consecutive drivers' title. "I think he realized that things aren’t going as he had anticipated and that the updates aren’t performing as well as expected," the German said.