日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Sports
Home / Sports / Motor news

Max steering through strife

Updated: 2024-03-07 07:10
Share
Share - WeChat
Red Bull's Max Verstappen celebrates winning last weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix. REUTERS

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Max Verstappen will return to Saudi Arabia and the scene of a rare defeat last season expecting to face an inquisition this week about his future and that of his Red Bull team.

After a turbulent week of stories, speculation and a majestic triumph at the Bahrain Grand Prix, the three-time world champion will need to draw again on his deep well of mental resilience to steer clear of trouble on and off the track.

Last year, he was undone by a driveshaft problem in qualifying and started 15th on the grid.

He charged forward to finish second behind teammate Sergio Perez, one of only two races won by the Mexican.

This time, after a season-opening win last Saturday, he will be seeking a ninth consecutive victory and a 100th career podium finish, preferably as a winner for the 56th time in his career.

But the racing will not be the agenda-topping story following the furor created by his father Jos — who will be absent this weekend, instead taking part in a regional car rally in Belgium — by claiming Red Bull faced being torn apart if Christian Horner remained as team boss.

Horner, 50, was cleared of alleged inappropriate conduct involving a female colleague last Wednesday by an internal investigation and remained the focus of attention following the release of messages allegedly sent by him.

The commotion continued throughout the Bahrain weekend and throughout Monday when Verstappen senior held a 52nd birthday party in Dubai — to which Horner, reportedly, was not invited, suggesting that a clear rift existed between them.

Horner was reported to have held a clear-the-air meeting with Verstappen's agent, Raymond Vermeulen, hoping some normality can return at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit where he won under the lights in 2022.

The world champion will hope to continue as he left off at Sakhir, but the much smoother and more sympathetic asphalt surface is expected to reduce the advantage he enjoyed on the abrasive Bahrain track in his RB20 car.

"It's a completely different layout with a lot more high-speed corners," said Verstappen.

"The tarmac is different too so there will be less degradation and, probably, that will help other teams as well."

Among those seeking to register an immediate improvement will be Ferrari and McLaren, with Aston Martin and Mercedes also keen to show more of their potential on the calendar's second-fastest and second-longest circuit.

Following his feisty drive in Bahrain, Carlos Sainz, whose Ferrari seat will be taken by seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton in 2025, could be a threat to Red Bull.

So, too, could Hamilton as he seeks to end a drought of 46 winless outings back at the place where he last triumphed in 2021 — the inaugural Saudi event.

"It's a chance to step forward immediately," said team boss Toto Wolff, who last Saturday said Verstappen's form and superiority "was from another galaxy".

"We aim for a more consistent weekend to understand our true performance relative to the rest of the grid," Wolff added.

Political storm

A more keenly fought race is in prospect along with more off-track personal and political controversy surrounding not only Horner, whose former Spice Girl wife Geri Halliwell is not expected to attend, but also the president of the ruling body, the International Motoring Federation (FIA), Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

He is alleged to have interfered with a penalty that was overturned last year, allowing two-time champion Fernando Alonso to finish third for Aston Martin, and allegedly attempted to prevent approval of the Las Vegas circuit.

AFP

 

Most Popular

Highlights

What's Hot
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 欧美日韩中文在线观看 | 亚洲欧美中文日韩在线v日本 | 日韩高清免费在线观看 | 成人综合久久精品色婷婷 | 欧美日本一区视频免费 | 日韩精品福利视频一区二区三区 | 超碰人人操 | 男人激烈吮乳动态图 | 国产91对白叫床清晰播放 | 一区二区免费视频观看 | 亚洲精品一区二区三区蜜桃久 | 人人爽久久涩噜噜噜蜜桃 | 污污网站国产精品白丝袜 | 久久青草精品免费资源站 | 亚洲蜜芽在线精品一区 | 国产高清一区二区三区 | 欧美电影在线观看网站 | 亚洲九九色 | 欧美激情久久欧美激情 | 午夜成人在线视频 | 国产精品视频网站 | 欧美精品videosex极品 | 久久99视频精品 | 凹凸日日摸日日碰夜夜爽孕妇 | 毛片av网 | 久久最新精品 | a在线免费观看 | 91久久久久久久久久久 | 国产精品久久国产精品 | 久久欧美精品1024你懂得 | 国产高清成人 | www.伊人网| 亚洲日本中文字幕在线2022 | 久久久久亚洲视频 | 91麻豆国产极品在线观看洋子 | 国产欧美日韩亚洲精品区2345 | 国产人成精品一区二区三 | 久久久精品午夜免费不卡 | 国产午夜小视频 | 亚洲国产成人av好男人在线观看 | www.天天草|