The current Formula 1 calendar is pretty relentless. Teams have arrived in Jeddah for the fifth race in six weeks as part of a schedule that has so far taken in trips to Australia, China, Japan and Bahrain.
Even in such a short space of time, there have already been some real fluctuations in both form and atmosphere for multiple teams, and none more so than the rollercoaster of emotions at Red Bull.
Australia was fairly positive. Max Verstappen secured a second place in treacherous conditions and was putting pressure on Lando Norris until the very final corner. Then came China, which was less productive but did still offer a reason for optimism as the final stint on hard tires was particularly competitive.
You probably don’t need me to remind you what happened in Japan, where Verstappen pulled out one of his finest qualifying laps to secure pole position on a track where overtaking was going to prove extremely difficult, and converted that into a first victory of the season to move within a point of the championship lead.
At no stage after Suzuka did anyone from Red Bull proclaim that it had solved its car issues, or would be competitive at every venue. But what happened next time out in Bahrain still seemed to hit particularly hard.
The whole weekend was a struggle. Verstappen was complaining of serious balance issues that hurt his ability to manage the tires, and brake problems that were never fully solved despite pre-race changes under parc ferme conditions.
In China, Verstappen walked away with a fourth place from a tricky weekend, but even salvaging sixth place on the final lap in Bahrain did little to appease the frustration that was shown by many of those around him, if not Verstappen himself.
Tensions were high between Helmut Marko and Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen at the end of the race, when the pair engaged in strong words, although Verstappen insisted there wasn’t much to it.
“To my knowledge, they were having just a conversation about everything — which is allowed,” Verstappen said. “Now, if someone picks up on it, people can always see it in their own way; how people are discussing things.
“But we were all left frustrated with the result and, of course, the things that went wrong in the race. I think that’s where my manager Raymond and Helmut spoke about it — and even Christian [Horner] came along, as well. So they all had a conversation. That should be allowed. We all care, at the end of the day. We care about the team, we care about the people, we care about results. I think that’s quite normal.”
Bahrain was a setback for Red Bull, but Saudi Arabia offers a chance for a quick reset. Red Bull Content Pool
Verstappen is right. It’s very normal to have such conversations. And it’s also normal to downplay the significance of them in the media. Not that I’m ever complaining about personnel speaking their mind and being open and honest – more of it is needed – but certain members of the team are growing exasperated by the amount of panic that is portrayed straight after a poor result.
Helmut Marko had stated that “the concern is great” around the fear that Verstappen could leave Red Bull at the end of the season due to the car’s performance, saying the team has to find improvements quickly to give him a winning car.
Granted, Verstappen made the difference in Japan, but Marko’s comments came a week after the Dutchman had won a race, and at a time when he was within 10 points of the championship lead. The clauses in his contract do not simply demand that Verstappen has to be leading the standings and winning all the time, even if the current trend is worrying.
But Marko’s views don’t fully tally with Verstappen’s own, even if the 81-year-old’s comments were the reason that the four-time world champion was facing questions about his future on Thursday in Saudi Arabia.
“Honestly, a lot of people are talking about it, except me,” Verstappen said. “I just want to focus on my car, work with the people in the team. That’s the only thing that I’m thinking about in Formula 1 at the moment. I’m very relaxed.
“I just keep working, keep trying to improve the car. Bahrain wasn’t a great weekend for us. I think we were all pretty disappointed with that. We just keep on trying to improve the car, come up with new ideas to try on the car. The competition is tough. That’s how I go about my weeks – just trying to improve the situation.”
Marko has been a particularly close ally, to such an extent that 12 months ago in Jeddah, Verstappen was openly stating that he would be likely to leave Red Bull if Marko was no longer part of the set-up. That stance appears to have cooled more recently, and Verstappen now insists the outside noise doesn’t impact on him or the way he wants to work, even if doubt is being cast on his future by those close to him.
The beauty of the tight schedule is that Red Bull and Verstappen get to try and move on from the struggles of Bahrain just a few days later, and on a track with very different characteristics. But the RB21 is not a car that is consistent, and there are no guarantees that a more positive performance is waiting for the team this weekend.
McLaren results permitting, Verstappen remains within a top-five finish of taking the championship lead. Such a scenario would undermine the alarm bells that are currently ringing, even if the team needs to find ways of reversing the current trend in terms of car performance.
But 12 months on from explosive comments and claims at the team, Red Bull also feels like it is teetering on the brink of more significant fallout if there’s another uncompetitive showing in Jeddah.
Who knows which way the rollercoaster is going to head next?
