World champion Max Verstappen’s father wants to oust the boss of Red Bull, the team that took his son to three consecutive titles. The president of the governing body has reportedly been accused of interfering in one race and trying to stop the Las Vegas street course from being certified for racing. Half the grid is chasing the Mercedes seat that will be empty when Lewis Hamilton leaves at the end of the year.
With so much drama in the paddock, Verstappen’s runaway victory at the season-opener in Bahrain last weekend was the least dramatic moment of the past month.
When asked after the opener if Verstappen will cruise to a fourth straight title, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said, “Unfortunately, yes.”
Practice in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah begins on Thursday with F1 dogged by unresolved tension and open conflict.
First, there’s the turmoil at Red Bull despite Verstappen’s win by more than 22 seconds over teammate Sergio Perez. Team principal Christian Horner remains in charge a week after the team’s parent company dismissed a complaint that alleged misconduct by Horner towards a team employee. He has denied wrongdoing.
Later, British and Dutch newspapers published comments from Verstappen’s father Jos attacking Horner.
The team “will explode” if Horner stays in charge, he told The Daily Mail. But before Jos Verstappen’s comments could launch another round of gossip, rumours and speculation, the spotlight was suddenly shifted from Horner to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
The BBC reported Ben Sulayem was under an internal FIA investigation after two whistleblower reports accused the president of interfering in races. The whistleblower claimed the president intervened to have a penalty for Fernando Alonso overturned at last year’s race in Saudi Arabia.
