The father of the Dutch driver, Jos, who will not be present at Saturday’s race in Jeddah, caused a stir in Bahrain last week when he stated that the team was at risk of falling apart if Christian Horner remained in control.
Verstappen has not publicly addressed the controversial comments, although he did publicly wish his father a happy 52nd birthday on social media on Monday. Reports from the media suggest that Horner was not invited to the birthday dinner in Dubai.
Verstappen, 26, also refrained from expressing unwavering support for his embattled boss after Horner, 50, was recently cleared of alleged misconduct towards a female employee.
A meeting was held in Dubai on Monday between team management and a representative of Verstappen’s father to address any lingering issues. Verstappen’s father is set to participate in a regional car rally in Belgium this weekend.
On the track, Verstappen aims to continue his strong start to the season by securing victory at the illuminated Corniche track, where he emerged victorious in 2022 before his teammate Sergio Perez claimed the win last year.
“It’s a completely different track layout, with a greater number of high-speed corners,” Verstappen commented following his win in Bahrain, where he secured pole position, fastest lap, and led every lap.
“The Tarmac, of course, is completely different from what we have here, resulting in less tire degradation. This will likely benefit other teams as well, compared to us,” Verstappen added.
Jeddah’s smooth surface is the second longest on the racing calendar and also facilitates some of the highest speeds after Italy’s Monza.
The floodlit night race is scheduled a day earlier than usual to accommodate Ramadan, commencing on Sunday evening.
Perez emerged victorious in the previous season’s race, starting from the front position, while Verstappen impressively climbed from 15th to second place after encountering a drive-shaft failure during the qualifying session.
In Jeddah, Azerbaijan, Perez also triumphed, along with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in Singapore, making these the only two races out of the 22 in the calendar where Verstappen did not secure a victory last year.
Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes will be returning to the venue where he last tasted success in December 2021, when Saudi Arabia hosted its inaugural race.
However, Hamilton’s performance in Bahrain was lackluster, finishing in seventh place, while his teammate George Russell managed a fifth-place finish due to a miscalculation in cooling by the Mercedes team. They are optimistic that the high-speed Jeddah circuit will present a different challenge and opportunity for improvement.
Toto Wolff, the team principal, expressed their eagerness to make progress immediately, emphasizing the importance of gaining further knowledge and experience with the new car on a circuit that differs significantly from Bahrain. Their goal is to have a more consistent weekend and gain a better understanding of their performance relative to the other teams on the grid.
Despite encountering brake issues with Charles Leclerc’s car, Ferrari, the team closest to Red Bull in Bahrain, is expected to be competitive.
Last year, Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin finished third in the race after a penalty was overturned, resulting in ongoing controversy and discussions within the governing body, FIA, regarding an alleged intervention by president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
Additionally, the upcoming race weekend marks the commencement of the all-female F1 Academy season and the introduction of Formula One’s new safety car, the Aston Martin Vantage.
The safety car has been utilized in all three previous races held in Jeddah, with the 2021 race being halted twice due to red flags. (Reported by Alan Baldwin)