"Nothing against Max and his incredible talent": Why Martin Brundle was quietly pleased by Max Verstappen's driveshaft issue in Jeddah

Martin Brundle, in his review of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, mentioned that he was 'pleased' to an extent after Max Verstappen's driveshaft issue made him start the race from P15.

The 50 laps around the Jeddah Corniche track were filled with surprises and excitement, but something that did not come as a surprise at all was Red Bull's domination with a 1 - 2 finish.

However, Sky Sports presenter Martin Brundle felt that something different might happen after Max Verstappen had a driveshaft issue during qualifying and qualified only P15.

He had hoped for something different because of the starting position, but in the end, the Dutchman was able to make his way to P2. Brundle wrote on Sky Sports:

"In the end, it was another show of total domination by Red Bull in Jeddah."

"I have to be honest and say that when Max Verstappen had a driveshaft problem in qualifying meaning that he would start 15th on the grid, I was quietly pleased, relieved, and energised. Nothing against Max and his incredible talent, but at least we would have something to look forward to on race day."

Max Verstappen charged furiously on the grid and was able to make it up to P2. Though he posed a challenge to almost all the other teams, he was unable to close up the gap between him and Sergio Perez in the other RB-19, who started from pole and won the race, marking it his fifth F1 victory.

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Brundle predicts teams will be hiring personnel from stronger ones after Max Verstappen and Red Bull domination

Since the past season, it has been quite apparent that Red Bull are back with their dominant period over the Formula 1 grid. Max Verstappen was almost unstoppable in 2022 and is showing similar traits after round two of the 2023 F1 season.

Martin Brundle feels that such domination has put other teams under quite some pressure and they will be looking to hire experts from the bigger teams to perform well. The grid has already witnessed something similar after Dan Fallows moved from Red Bull to Aston Martin. Brundle said:

"I've rarely witnessed such a broad challenge across so many teams and they'll be looking to hire experienced talent from other teams, who are themselves still feverishly protecting the people they already have under contract and collecting up other talents."

However, such a shuffle in teams could lead to many ways, especially after the similarity between the RB and the AMR challengers. Dan Fallows' experience at Red Bull has been blamed for the similarity in the design concepts of the cars.

Brundle also feels that in 2026, with Audi getting in with the Sauber Group, there will be a lot of changes on the grid because of the many recruits they will require.

For now, however, Max Verstappen looks to have a strong grip over this season as well after the two flawless performances he gave in Sakhir and Jeddah.