Max Verstappen mental judgment questioned: 'And then hell all broke loose'

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has questioned what Max Verstappen was thinking during his contentious incident with George Russell in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix.

The red mist descended on Verstappen when he was ordered by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to hand back a position to Russell three laps after the Mercedes driver had attacked into Turn 1 following a safety car restart on Lap 61.

On hard tyres, as it was the only new rubber available to the Dutchman, compared to all those around him on softs when pit stops were made after the safety car was summoned, leaving Verstappen vulnerable given the vast difference in compounds.

A hair-raising moment for Verstappen along the main straight when racing recommenced allowed Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to attack and make his way up to third. Behind the duo, Russell chanced his arm going into the first corner.

Fearing a repeat of a 10-second penalty being handed to Verstappen, as occurred in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix when he should have handed a place back to McLaren's Lando Norris but did not do so, Red Bull made a call that infuriated their driver.

Out of Turn 4 on Lap 64, Verstappen backed off momentarily to allow Russell by, only to quickly accelerate again into Turn 5 and run into the Mercedes.

There have been suggestions that Verstappen's actions were deliberate, and he should have been black-flagged. Instead, the stewards only served up a 10-second penalty that dropped him from fifth to 10th at the chequered flag.

Verstappen offered little in defence when asked about the incident by RacingNews365 in the written media pen after the race, stating it was "a misjudgment".

On Monday, Verstappen issued a statement on social media, saying his move on Russell was "not right and shouldn't have happened", although he fell short of apologising.

Speaking on ServusTV's SportTalk program, Marko was left wondering what Verstappen was thinking.

Reflecting on Russell's move at Turn 1 initially, Marko said: "Russell braked too late and slipped. Max then had to swerve.

"The regulations state quite clearly that in such a situation, you don't have to give the place back. A discussion then arose with us about giving the place back. Max said no. And then we said, 'No, you have to, because the risk is too great'."

Moving on to the more contentious incident with Russell, Marko added: "Then you could see from the telemetry that Max took his foot off the gas pedal. We all assumed: he's letting him pass now. And then suddenly he accelerated again.

"I don't know what that error of judgement was, or what was going on in his head. And then, of course, all hell broke loose, as they say."