JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — After comfortably winning the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix on Saturday, Max Verstappen and Red Bull are cruising toward another championship season. Both, however, are refusing to be the first to blink in the deepening mystery about the three-time Formula One world champion’s future beyond 2024.
The sort of victory witnessed at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Saturday night is what we’ve come to expect from this dominant Red Bull outfit. Verstappen led from pole, only briefly dropping to second after an early Safety Car, and was so far out in front that he was turning down his engine setting late on.
It was utterly routine, and he’ll assuredly enjoy many more like it in 2024.
Which raises an intriguing question for any watching fan: Why would anyone ever leave a team this good? And yet, that’s been the growing question all week in Saudi, because Verstappen’s mind on the subject is not truly known.
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On Feb. 28, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was cleared of misconduct in a Red Bull GmbH investigation, but controversy around the case — and speculation about its fallout — has continued to swirl.
Last Sunday, Verstappen’s father, Jos, said the team is “in danger of being torn apart” if Horner remains team principal. On Wednesday, Max Verstappen steered clear of discussing his father’s pointed criticism but said he does not envision a day he races in F1 without his dad by his side. On Friday night after qualifying, Verstappen said his Red Bull future was tied to that of advisor Helmut Marko, who’d remarked that he was potentially facing a suspension from the Milton Keynes outfit.
Hours after the Dutch driver sealed his second win from two races, Horner called the bluff of his star’s veiled hints at leaving the team 24 hours earlier, opening the door for the Dutchman to walk away from what could be the greatest team ever assembled.
“You can never say never,” Horner said on Saturday evening on the prospect of Verstappen leaving. “If a driver doesn’t want to be somewhere, then they’ll go somewhere else. But as a team, I can’t see any reason why anybody would want to step out of this team. I think he’s got a great support around him and he’s doing a wonderful job with a great car.”
The car is truly great, too. Verstappen took the chequered flag 13.643 seconds ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez. Charles Leclerc crossed the finish line in his Ferrari 18.639 seconds…
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