Red Bull boss Christian Horner has dismissed Nico Rosberg’s call for Max Verstappen to be disqualified from the Formula 1 Spanish Grand Prix, branding the reaction as “sensationalist”.
The Dutchman had originally crossed the line in fifth at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, but dropped to 10th in the final classification after being handed a 10-second time penalty for causing a collision with George Russell in the closing stages of the race.
The clash followed a tense scrap between the pair, beginning when Verstappen ran wide at Turn 1 while defending his position — a move he later claimed was caused by Russell forcing him off-track.
After retaining the place, Red Bull instructed Verstappen to cede the position.
He appeared to comply by lifting off at Turn 5, only to immediately lunge back up the inside, banging wheels with Russell in what appeared to be a calculated, if chaotic, move.
The incident left fans, commentators, and rivals alike scratching their heads.
Among the most vocal critics was Sky Sports F1 pundit Rosberg, who called for Verstappen to be black-flagged in an impassioned live commentary.
“He needs to get black flagged,” the 2016 World Champion declared. “He just crashed into Russell on purpose just to prove a point.
“That was horrible. That did not look good. That’s bad, bad, bad. That is seriously bad.”
Asked about Rosberg’s remarks after the race, Red Bull Team Principal Horner dismissed them with a thinly veiled dig at the German’s punditry style.
“Nico’s quite sensational in the way he commentates, so we’ll leave it there,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
As for Verstappen himself, he was quite clear in his thoughts on his former on-track rival’s comments.
“Yeah, that’s his opinion; everyone can have his opinion,” he blankly stated.
What will concern the reigning World Champion is the tally on his FIA Super Licence, which now stands at 11 penalty points – just one shy of an automatic race ban.
Verstappen must now keep his record clean through the next two rounds of the 2025 F1 season: the Austrian and Canadian Grands Prix.
READ MORE – Max Verstappen harbours no regret over George Russell clash in F1 Spanish GP
Nico might have been overstating the obvious, but Horner was defending the indefensible. That guy never learns.
Horner was not defending the move. In this article he did not eve mention the move itself, merely the style of Nico’s commentary. I like Rossberg, but he does tend to be a little excitable.
Not onliy should Mr. Vertappen junior have been black-flagged, but he should have been banned for at least one race immediately. This kind of atitude is deplorable, and has no place in any racing category.
Nico‘s commentary for the entire weekend was absolutely outstanding and could not fail to be noted as the insights of an experienced driver who really can discern the nuances of what’s happening on the track. His opinion about the black flagging was one man’s opinion, but really wasn’t very far off base, since Max has a tendency to fail to control his emotions in these situations-it really throws Oscar’s cool under pressure attitude into sharp relief.