‘Verstappen strongly defended Marko; he didn’t do that with Horner’ - Saudi GP diary

It’s a good job aspects of Formula 1 have been completely chaotic and unpredictable off the track, given the opposite has been happening in the opening two races from a sporting perspective. This weekend, controversy continued apace in Jeddah.

 

More twists and turns at Red Bull

There’s a movie in here somewhere, but I haven’t worked out exactly who the main characters are going to end up being once it all shakes out.

If the focus was almost entirely on Christian Horner in Bahrain, it evolved when Jos Verstappen put him firmly in the middle of the Red Bull saga at the end of that weekend. Max Verstappen’s father’s claim that the team was in going to be “torn apart” and could “explode” if Horner stayed in his role showed where his allegiance lay.

Just as Horner was demanding the media move on from the situation — one that is certainly not his choice — the news was emerging that the complainant had been suspended on full pay. The reasoning is understood to be relating to potential inconsistencies in evidence, and suggests there is a long way to run in the whole process.

If that wasn’t enough, then Helmut Marko took the opportunity to tell Austrian and German television channels that his time at the team could be over, with Red Bull GmbH launching another investigation relating to how specific materials leaked to the media.

Much was made of Marko’s comment that he could theoretically be suspended, but more telling was his suggestion that he would decide his own future, and that a lot of things need to be right moving forward for him to stay. Could one of those things be the removal of Horner?

The fact that Verstappen was ready to strongly defend Marko – something he didn’t do with the team principal – and state he has to stay was a further show of strength against Horner.

“I have always expressed this to everyone within the team, everyone high up, that [Marko] is an important part in my decision-making for all the time in the future as well within the team,” Verstappen said.

“It is very important that we keep the key people together because I feel like if such an important pillar falls away that is also what I have said to the team, that is not good for my situation as well.”

Horner wasn’t excluded from the latter point, but those were not comments Verstappen had given at any stage when discussing his future. Perhaps that’s due to the nature of the allegations, but the impression within the team was that it firmly posts Verstappen’s colours to the mast as he also added further credibility to reports he has an escape clause in his contract if Marko leaves.

While Marko then told Sky Germany that a meeting with Oliver Mintzlaff – the CEO of Red Bull’s corporate projects – on Saturday had seen them “agree on all points” and that he will continue in his role, what those points are remain to be seen.

The power struggle within the most dominant team in the sport is quite remarkable, and it’s far from over.

 

Bearman’s big break

Regular readers might well have been introduced to Oliver Bearman long ago, or with our interview with him ahead of last season’s British Grand Prix. Either way, he’s a driver who has appeared on an increasingly rapid trajectory towards F1.

Last July, it felt like he could put himself in a position to be closer to F1 with a title challenge in his rookie Formula 2 season. That championship hope faded, but his FP1 performances for Haas certainly caught the eye, and led to him being promoted to reserve driver at both Ferrari and Haas, with the six FP1s he’ll do this year a telling sign that he was being prepared for a promotion.

But timing is everything, and as Carlos Sainz ended up ruled out of the race weekend, the fact F2 races in Jeddah ensured Bearman was the Ferrari reserve on site, and after a winter with no F1 driver changes for the first time in history, it took until just race two for the first rookie to make the grid.

Bearman’s performance on Friday drew plenty of praise from his peers, with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen leading the accolades at the way he approach his daunting task, with Verstappen watching his opening laps in FP3 and saying: “OK, that’s a strong start, I like to see that!”.

It was an even stronger finish with a stunning drive to seventh place that saw Bearman attacking Yuki Tsunoda from the off, pulling a strong move on the RB on a restart and then showing excellent pace to keep Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton at bay late on. As Leclerc surmised: “I’m sure he’s extremely proud but everybody has noticed how talented he is and I guess it’s just a matter of time before he comes here to Formula 1.”

A word for Sainz though, too, who showed incredible force of will to take part in both practice sessions on Thursday despite his illness, eventually requiring surgery for appendicitis on Friday morning. By Saturday he was back in the paddock despite needing to walk very gingerly, and given the car at his disposal – and with a next move to finalise – he is targeting an instant return in Melbourne.

 

Haas has harmony

I’ll admit I didn’t expect it when Guenther Steiner was replaced by Ayao Komatsu, but under the new team principal there is a real harmony at Haas. The team methodically tackled testing – and exceeded its own expectations – before a strong showing in Bahrain even if there were no points.

Then in qualifying in Jeddah, the first sign of teamwork was shown when the two drivers combined to give Nico Hülkenberg a tow at the start of Q2. Although a mechanical issue then prevented him from using it, and left Hülkenberg out of position on the grid, there was more collaboration for a hard-earned point.

Kevin Magnussen’s penalties had ruled him out of contention but he backed up other cars brilliantly to allow Hülkenberg to make a pitstop and rejoin ahead of the chasing pack in the points, instantly putting Haas sixth in the standings as the only team outside the top five to score.

A member of Hülkenberg’s team described it as a “mega team effort” and said “K-Mag’s defence was 10/10”, in a sign of just how well Haas is working as a team. If it can keep that up, then holding onto sixth for a number of races is a realistic aim, although its biggest test will be if it can develop a car to remain in that fight.

 

F1 Academy’s near-miss

Despite a largely smooth opening weekend, there was a concerning moment at the end of the second F1 Academy race on Saturday. Doriane Pin had dominated the weekend – although Abbi Pulling pushed her hard in the two races – but then wasn’t aware that the second race had finished.

The chequered flag had been shown, but it appeared her Prema team were then celebrating the double victory and did not tell Pin the race was over. A full lap at racing speed followed, and fortunately someone was aware enough not to start setting up the grid for the post-race ceremony.

But only when Pin completed an extra lap did race control put out a red flag to alert her, and then her engineer came over the radio to ask what she was doing.