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Max Verstappen has doubled down on his support for Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko, with the Austrian's position no longer in danger. The political mess that the team has become over the last month has caught everyone's attention in the F1 world.
The latest addition to a series of controversies were the reports that emerged after the Saudi Arabian GP qualifying, claiming Red Bull chief advisor Helmut Marko could be suspended from the team. The reasoning given was his reported involvement in leaking confidential information to the media. The Austrian was also seen leaving the paddock abruptly.
During this time, Max Verstappen put his weight behind Helmut Marko and made it clear that his stay with Red Bull was contingent on the Austrian' status within the team. On Saturday, before the race, it became clear that Marko wasn't going anywhere after his meeting with the managing director of Red Bull GmbH, Oliver Mintzlaff.
After another race win for Max Verstappen, the Red Bull driver was questioned during the press conference if he continued to have the same stance, to which the driver doubled down on what he had said. He emphasized that it was important that everyone works together, saying:
"I always said that what is most important is that we work together as a team and that everyone keeps the peace. And that's what we, I think, all agree on within the team. So hopefully from now on, that is also fully the case. Everyone is trying to focus in the same direction. And I think the positive out of all this is that it didn't hurt our performances."
He added:
"So it's a very strong team. I think also mentally, what you can see from not only driver's side, but also mechanics, engineers, everyone is there to do their job. And I think everyone, even when there is stuff going on or whatever, they're just very focused on their job as they should be."
Max Verstappen explains why he took some time to overtake Lando Norris for the lead
Lando Norris jumped Max Verstappen in the race when the Red Bull pitted for new tyres during the safety car. Even on fresher tyres, Verstappen took some time getting close to Norris before overtaking him for the lead.
On being questioned about why it took him a few laps to overtake the McLaren, Verstappen said that it took a few laps for the Red Bull to warm up the tyres and he thus had to wait before going ahead with it. He said:
"Yeah, I mean, he didn't stop, so naturally he was ahead of me. And it took a few laps for me to warm up my hard tyres. I also didn't want to take too many risks as well, you know, because when you don't have a lot of grip, it's easy to make a mistake around here. And, yeah, at one point, once the tyres had a bit of grip, I could catch him and pass him"
The driver has won both of the two races so far this season, and it does appear that he will continue to hold the advantage over the growth for the bulk of the season.
