Red Bull team in focus
Formula 1 gets started: with a lot of explosives from the winter break
Max Verstappen (l) speaks with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner. Formula 1 will be testing in Bahrain from Wednesday. photo
© Hassan Ammar/AP/dpa
After a short break, Formula 1 starts again with three days of testing. In addition to the sporting questions, there is also plenty of material for sensitive debates off the track.
The test drives will be a good 4,000 kilometers from the Red Bull headquarters in Fuschl am See Formula 1 in the desert of Sakhir is the next PR balancing act for the group around managing director Oliver Mintzlaff.
In terms of sport, everyone is excited about the industry leader’s new racing car, whose design amazed many people. When all the main actors meet again just 87 days after the finale of the season once again dominated by Max Verstappen, the focus is on two explosive personalities – and one concerns Red Bull.
The Horner case – does he stay or does he have to go?
Even Formula 1 felt compelled to comment shortly before the cameras turned back on the billion-dollar business. The hope: that the matter surrounding Red Bull team boss Christian Horner will be resolved as quickly as possible. The longest-serving team boss in the racing series is accused of inappropriate behavior by an employee, but he himself denies it. Red Bull commissioned an independent external law firm to clarify the matter.
The group, in which former RB Leipzig CEO Mintzlaff has been one of three managing directors since the death of company founder Dietrich Mateschitz and is responsible for all sporting activities worldwide, must now decide on the next steps. At the broadcast of the presentation of the RB20 for the team’s 20th season in Formula 1 in Milton Keynes, Horner was one of the protagonists – as if nothing had happened.
This Thursday, Horner is scheduled to be one of the interlocutors in the press conference during the lunch break at the Bahrain International Circuit. According to reports, the decision about his whereabouts could even take until after March 2nd – the day of the first race of the record season of 24 Grand Prix.
Should Horner have to leave, team manager Jonathan Wheatley or technical director Pierre Waché would probably be considered as successors. If Horner stays, it will have to be seen how much the matter has weakened the 50-year-old Brit in his office. There has been talk of a power struggle between Horner and Red Bull’s motorsport consultant Helmut Marko, who in turn is close to three-time champion Verstappen, for some time.
The Hamilton Files – can that work?
It is not surprising that the Red Bull camp of all places has already caught fire, even if there is a huge fire there itself. “Usually in a situation like this, your mind is more on the new team,” Marko told the “oe24” portal: “The whole thing is excellent for sport, better than Netflix.”
Hamilton says he is more motivated than ever. At the age of 39, his hunger for success surprises even him. But it is also a fact that he will be competing for Mercedes for the last time this season and will be driving for Ferrari from 2025.
The fact that he doesn’t even go to the wrong motorhome or park the silver-black car in the wrong garage for red racing cars is probably one of the harmless innuendos. Hamilton’s future career planning definitely has potential for conflict. Also because his move means someone at Ferrari has to vacate his place: Carlos Sainz. Will the Spaniard now become the Ich-AG in the red racing car? Certainly not, but it is questionable whether he will still adhere to all the guidelines when in doubt, especially towards the end of the season.
The new cars – who dares the most?
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday – from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, the ten teams can test their new cars. Just a week later, the first qualifying takes place on Friday and the first race on Saturday, also at the Bahrain International Circuit. After the dominance of Verstappen with 19 wins this season alone and 21 of Red Bull – out of 22 Grand Prix – the engineers at the world champion team are relying on innovation and innovation. “They weren’t exactly conservative,” Verstappen said, calling it “controlled aggressiveness.”
Since there were no major technical rule changes this year, there are many innovations in the details. The extent to which Mercedes, McLaren or Ferrari can catch up with Red Bull will become clear during the test rounds. And this will also likely be followed closely at Red Bull’s headquarters in Fuschl am See.