Formula 1: Red Bull wants to step up its game amid power poker in Jeddah

The high-speed circuit in Jeddah is one of the three tracks where he did not win last season. The Dutchman’s father recently caused a stir in Bahrain when he said the racing team could be torn apart if the controversial Christian Horner continued to be in charge. Verstappen has not yet commented publicly on the words of his father, who celebrated his 52nd birthday on Monday and will not be there in Saudi Arabia. The defending World Cup champion has so far held back from supporting Red Bull team boss Horner, who was cleared of allegations of misconduct towards an employee the previous week.

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Deep digging by the team

According to various media reports, there has been a rift running through the most successful Formula 1 team of today since the death of Dietrich Mateschitz. On one side there are the Verstappen family, chief advisor Helmut Marko and, as we hear, head of design Adrian Newey. On the other side is Horner, who can count on the support of the Thai Yoovidhya clan, which holds the majority of shares in Red Bull GmbH.

Horner was reportedly not invited to Jos Verstappen’s birthday dinner in Dubai. Apart from this, a clarifying conversation is said to have taken place between Horner and the Verstappen management. Jos Verstappen, who will take part in a rally in Belgium this weekend, has for some time been rumored to have been involved in the revelations about Horner’s interpersonal activities. The Dutchman Erik van Haren, who was the first journalist to report on it in the newspaper De Telegraaf, is said to have a very close relationship with the Verstappen men.

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After a dominant start to the season, Verstappen wants to improve

The explosion that Jos Verstappen literally spoke about in an interview with the Daily Mail could, as things currently stand, involve his son, Marko and Newey leaving the team at the end of the season. At least that’s the leverage Horner’s opponents have in their hands to get them to retreat. Because Red Bull without Verstappen and Newey would probably only be worth half – or less.

On the track, Verstappen wants to improve on Saturday (6 p.m./live ORF1, Sky) after his dominant start to the season. He last won on the Jeddah Corniche course in 2022 before teammate Sergio Perez took victory last year. “It’s a completely different track layout, a lot more high-speed corners,” said the Dutchman after Bahrain, where he won from pole position with the fastest lap and led every lap. After Monza, the second highest speeds in the Formula 1 year are achieved in Jeddah.

Hamilton at the site of his last victory

Meanwhile, Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton returns to the site of his last victory. The Brit triumphed in Saudi Arabia in December 2021 and has been waiting for his 104th Grand Prix victory since then. In Bahrain, Hamilton was only seventh, his teammate George Russell fifth, when Mercedes made a cooling miscalculation. The true potential of the W15 will be revealed in Jeddah.

“It was a frustrating start to the season, but we will learn from it,” said team boss Toto Wolff. “Now we have the opportunity to take a step forward immediately.” Ferrari, the team that came closest to Red Bull in Bahrain despite the braking problems on Charles Leclerc’s car, should also be competitive.