Verstappen ’deliberately let Red Bull hit the wall’
"You can see from that there are tensions"
Ralf Schumacher believes Max Verstappen intentionally allowed tensions to rise inside Red Bull during the Canadian GP weekend in order to force the team to confront its ongoing car problems.
Although Verstappen finished on the podium in Montreal, the Dutchman was angry after qualifying following another failed setup experiment on the RB22.
Speaking to Sky Deutschland, Schumacher said Verstappen effectively wanted to teach the team a lesson. "He basically said: ’I deliberately let the team run into the wall.’"
According to Schumacher, the episode exposed growing tension at Red Bull, amid ongoing uncertainty about the quadruple world champion’s whereabouts for 2027.
"You can see from that there are tensions," he said.
Schumacher also criticised the way Verstappen handled the situation publicly.
"I like the fact that Max is so honest and just says everything as it is," he admitted. "But actually something like that should remain internal."
The former Williams driver believes Red Bull’s core issue remains the unpredictability of the post-Adrian Newey era under technical director Pierre Wache.
"Wache can build fast cars, but not necessarily consistent cars," Schumacher argued.
"The setup seems so complex that it is difficult for the driver to handle."
He pointed to the contrast between Verstappen and teammate Isack Hadjar in Montreal, where Hadjar was highly competitive all weekend despite Verstappen’s complaints. "That doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but still," Schumacher said.
"They really need to work together more now."
Schumacher believes Red Bull urgently needs a broader operating window rather than simply chasing peak performance. "A window that still works when the wind changes, or if a driver brakes a little later."
"That is exactly what is currently missing at Red Bull."
Team boss Laurent Mekies openly admitted Red Bull could reduce the bouncing and instability problems relatively easily - but only by sacrificing outright pace.
"Honestly, it would probably be quite easy to solve the problem by simply slowing down the car," Mekies said. "But you want to solve the problem and win speed at the same time."
"That makes it a complex problem."
Still, Mekies insisted Red Bull’s development direction is improving. "We’ve confirmed our progress," he said.
"Our drivers managed to extract more performance. In Miami we finished 40 seconds behind the winner. Clearly, it was closer in Montreal."