In the round-up: Red Bull’s Christian Horner met with Max Verstappen’s representatives after the three-times champion’s father called for the team principal to stand down.
In brief
Horner reaches out to Verstappen
Horner met with Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen, according to a PA Media report. The world champion was urged to publicly back Horner last weekend by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
The apparent rift between the Verstappens and the team has prompted speculation the driver may leave them before his current deal expires in 2028. Reports claims he has an option to leave if Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko does not remain at the team. He told F1 Insider: “I won’t stand in Max’s way.”
Meanwhile Horner has threatened legal action against a magazine over its coverage of Red Bull’s investigation of him. The publication previously made claims about husband and wife Toto and Susie Wolff – the Mercedes team principal and F1 Academy CEO respectively – triggering an FIA investigation which was swiftly dropped after the other nine F1 teams publicly and unanimously denied the allegations against Mercedes.
Castroneves reveals Indy 500 livery
Beganovic explains nightmare start
Ferrari junior driver Dino Beganovic has revealed what went wrong when he was swamped by the field at the start of Saturday’s Formula 3 feature race. The rookie had taken pole position on his debut in the category.
“It was a nightmare,” he said. “For some reason, the car was stuck in first gear all the way to turn two. We don’t know why at the moment, but of course it’s something we are looking into.”
Having fallen to 30th and last, Beganovic recovered to 13th by the end of the 22-lap race. “The pace was just amazing all race,” he said. “The car felt great here in Bahrain and we had so much potential for everyone to see, so we’ll take that to Melbourne and just keep pushing.”
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
Heikki Kovalainen sai järkyttävän diagnoosin – Ura jäihin (Iltalehti - Finnish)
Former Formula 1 driver Heikki Kovalainen has revealed he stopped racing in November after a health check-up revealed he had an enlarged aorta and may require surgery.
Hitech: Hard work paid off after promising opening weekend in Sakhir (F2)
Hitech team principal Oliver Oakes: 'I thought (Aron) was brilliant. He made me laugh at the podium, he was like ‘ahh sorry boss!’, because he ran wide at the last corner on the Safety Car restart, giving away two spots. Then he got the five seconds for speeding in the pits, but I just said to him none of that matters, because you delivered everywhere else.'
CEO Jeff Dodds On Formula E's Present, Future And His Predictions For F1 In 2024 (Formula E)
'(F1 is) racing combustion engine cars and the money, costs are markedly different. The budgets are capped at more than $145m a year and teams run between $1.5-2bn in value. If you compare that to us, a team would maybe be looking at $30-40m with a cost cap at give or take $14m allowing for exchange rate variances. Basically, it’s less than 10% of the cost as a rough comparison.'
Iwasa: 'Everything feels very new' in Super Formula, but title still the aim (Formula Scout)
'The driving style is different because the F2 car is really heavy and has the 18-inch tyre, but the way to improve the car is quite similar.'
The race is on to enter the 2024 FIA Motorsport Games! (FIA)
'The 2022 Marseille Games were a massive success, with 72 nations and 463 competitors competing in 16 different categories. This year’s games will be even bigger, with the number of categories expanding to 26 across six core disciplines - Circuit, Rally, Off-road, Karting, Electric Street, and Esports.'
No, Carlos Sainz no estuvo solo en su celebración en el podio de Bahrein (Marca - Spanish)
Social media conspiracy theorists falsely claimed no one from Ferrari greeted Carlos Sainz Jnr to celebrate his podium finish in Bahrain after last weekend's race.
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Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
and F1 journalists/national media covering motorsport in a non-detailed capacity also irresponsibly set really, really high expectations on kids coming up when they're F1 juniors. Bit like football, seen some youngsters buckle just from the media focus on their results
— Ida (@wood_ida_) March 4, 2024
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Comment of the day
Are Alpine really going to be able to turn things around after losing or firing so many top staff in the past eight months?
The Alpine team is a weird one. Up to now, they’ve been sort of hanging around that ’empty’ part of the grid behind the big teams but ahead of all the ‘adding so much value to F1’-backmarkers. But that never really changes…
Makes one wonder if they want to keep doing this after 2025? Where’s the plan, the investments?
Wouldn’t be surprised if they call it quits and sell the team.
MichaelN
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Idr, Jarred Walmsley, Tommyb, Jake and James!
Tom Baker
5th March 2024, 0:44
Tom’s putting it in now.
rich (@rich)
5th March 2024, 8:25
arf :)
FlyingLap (@flyinglapp)
5th March 2024, 0:56
The only thing that’s really racy this season is Horner’s somewhat unusual relationship with his staff.
Jungle
6th March 2024, 10:17
I read here and there a few pundits calling him horny spice over the years….I goes the shoe fits
Jungle
6th March 2024, 10:18
*guess*
floodo1 (@floodo1)
5th March 2024, 1:25
This Horner story keeps giving every day. Wonder how long it will last?
Also, if there’s one thing I love about Indy Car it’s all the brands I never heard of. I feel like the sponsorship departments at Indy Car teams must be working HARD to find these companies and good on them for it! Much rather see brands I don’t know than the ones I don’t like (-8
Tristan
5th March 2024, 1:58
Does it though? It’s dead at this point, a photo in the dark with two people talking in the paddock, a meeting with a drivers manager? Please, could be talking about anything, none of it means anything… The media is reaching, their patheticism in full view as they milk the story for every possible click and it’s sad that people are eating it up.
Crazy that people would complain about official statements or direct quotes being reported, but find this kind of “news” worthy of any discussion.
Johnny
5th March 2024, 4:21
dead? did you miss the leaked text screenshots last week?
Tristan
5th March 2024, 4:53
Did you miss afterwards Gerri showing up to the race, Horner saying confidently that nothing has changed from Red Bull’s statement, and nothing else occurring other than Jos’ statement (the only interesting development.) Everything since is rampant speculation.
Nothing at all has suggested Horner’s position is threatened (especially since Jos walked back his statement) so until something actually develops it should be dropped and focus back on the racing.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
5th March 2024, 6:02
The whole thing is very fishy to me. I hope Red Bull swept didn’t sweep harassment under the rug.
Mayrton
5th March 2024, 13:01
I think you are so right. There isn’t anything anymore. Internally the book is closed and they have moved on. The press holding on to it and coming up with even more false statements like a meeting taking place, which is duhh a regular meeting since they work together. It is grasping for straws and in a rather pathetic way. Best would be for Racefans to stay away from this. I know it is just the quoting of other media, but still… it’s not very classy all of this.
Jay
5th March 2024, 2:58
Formula 1: $145m a year for $1.5-2bn value
Formula E: $14m a year for $30-40m value
So yeah, 10% of the cost for 2% of the value. ‘How to Lie with Statistics’ is a manual for the Formula E CEO, and most CEOs in general.
S
5th March 2024, 6:46
How to lie without using any statistics, by simply making up a random small number…
Lying is the name of the game for anyone who works in marketing and sales – F1 included.
F1 teams aren’t anywhere near $1.5-2bn in value either, BTW.
Everything is worth what its purchaser pay will pay for it… In F1’s case, nobody is buying a team for anywhere near that kind of money. Substantially less than one third of that, actually….
notagrumpyfan
5th March 2024, 11:27
The most recent equity investments in F1 teams valued Alpine at EUR833M (USD900M) (link).
A team further up the grid and/or if excluding debt (corporate value rather than equity value) and/or a full buy-out (at a premium) will undoubtedly tip that over the $1B.
notagrumpyfan
5th March 2024, 7:30
Company values are never based on costs! And certainly not on an artificial subset of total costs.
Free cash flow, profitability, growth potential, IP, barrier to entry are beter indicators for overall value.
James Bond (@jamesbond)
5th March 2024, 3:26
Drive To Survive $$$
Jere (@jerejj)
5th March 2024, 6:28
So some Ferrari mechanics were around the parc ferme fencing for the podium ceremonies, even though no one seemingly was.
Perhaps Renault Group should sell Team Enstone to Andretti.
Tristan
5th March 2024, 7:45
I think if there is going to be a closed grid, with 10 as the limit, there definitely should be some method of relegation.
It’s entirely unfair to the point of ridicule (as many have been happy to) that FOM can say Andretti can’t compete because they won’t be competitive, while the likes of Haas and Alpine circulate.
Coventry Climax
5th March 2024, 9:38
Yeah, but at least investigations show the message was brought correctly…
Some say F1’s not in a bad state at all. I say it’s in a sad state.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
5th March 2024, 8:39
If Horner holds on to Ford and completes the take over, and manages to get a hold of Sainz and Alonso, the dude is a genius. I would love to see Verstappen fighting Mercedes engineers, and Lewis taking it to Alonso, bring it on !
What does look good are Checo’s prospects for wins this year !!!
Tristan
5th March 2024, 10:56
Oh man, I can I have some of that cope please?
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
5th March 2024, 17:25
Built Ford Tough.
Zann (@zann)
5th March 2024, 8:52
No Jos this weekend. Game over, Christian 1 – 0 Jos
And spare me the ‘oh gosh I’m too busy rallying ‘ :)
GeeMac (@geemac)
5th March 2024, 10:36
I’m honestly struggling to see what Jos’ endgame is here.
The Red Bull holding company conducted what they say was an independent investigation with the aid of a third party and Horner was cleared, subject to a right of appeal which sits with the claimant. Red Bull in Thailand, the majority owner whole business, have publicly supported Horner. The race team are said to be supporting Horner according to credible journalists. This doesn’t sound like a team being “torn apart” as alleged by Jos. In addition, Red Bull have provided Jos’ son with the quickest car by a country mile, again, so I assume he has no grievances from a sporting perspective. I can only assume Jos is either:
(a) trying to claim some sort of moral high ground to force Horner to leave, which is dangerous for a man with a history of violence, including against women, who was also hardly a model parent to Max; or
(b) getting annoyed at all of us internet warriors saying Max is only winning because of the car he is driving so he is trying to use Horner’s conduct as some sort of lever to get Max out of the long term deal he inked with Red Bull so he can try win with someone else.
Either way, this whole thing is getting really tiresome.
Zann (@zann)
5th March 2024, 12:04
well Christian probably wants Jos out of the garage, where he’s a nuisance hanger-on campaigning for Max all the time. So the whole thing is most likely Jos trying to hang in basking in his son’s glory, and having to try and get rid of Christian to do it
Mayrton
5th March 2024, 13:08
Or he is not dissatisfied at all with Horner… I mean, I didn’t hear him say it. I heard the media telling me he said it, that’s all.
notagrumpyfan
5th March 2024, 14:08
(c) being used by others in this power game.
PS he wasn’t on the original entry list of the Rallye of Hannut.
Zann (@zann)
5th March 2024, 14:26
ha, great spot! The rallying is an excuse and Jos is toast
David BR (@david-br)
5th March 2024, 21:50
@geemac Other theories are available…
One is that this is all a ploy by Verstappen Senior for Horner or Marko or Newey to leave, in which case Verstappen Junior (male variety) has an escape clause (yeah, I don’t know why he’d go either) and can go to his own ‘dream team’: Mercedes. I can understand Verstappen moving in a few years if there’s a dodgy Red Bull engine on the way, but otherwise, I don’t get it, unless it’s just huge money from a Mercedes deal and/or a way to lever an even bigger contract from Red Bull.
Sam
5th March 2024, 23:32
Yes Max isn’t going anywhere until at least 2026.
He chances of winning this year and next are excellent.
In 2026 RBR/Ford will build their own engine – that sounds sketchy so Max will probably leave then.
I still can’t figure out why RBR didn’t stick with Honda but glad Aston Martin will be their new customer.
DaveW (@dmw)
6th March 2024, 16:28
I would just point out that no one knows if Horner was “cleared”. We just know what management decided to do, at the direction of the owners, at whose pleasure they serve. No one has seen outside counsel’s report or even knows what their scope of work was and what information was provided to them. This is the ask for transparency by Ford and other F1 stakeholders.
Shimks (@shimks)
5th March 2024, 12:23
A brilliant article in today’s Guardian regarding the Christian Horney controversy:
Shimks (@shimks)
5th March 2024, 12:23
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/mar/05/formula-one-red-bull-christian-horner
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
5th March 2024, 14:44
Thanks, I had no clue what the word peccadillo meant or that it even existed. Now I know both.
I wonder if Horner will do another season of Drive To Survive and if he will allow them to bring the subject up.
Here’s my favorite quote:
Your chances of racing an F1 car are roughly equal to your chances of going into space.
Tristan
5th March 2024, 12:52
This was my (least) favourite bit.
Couldn’t be more wrong, obviously never been to a go-kart track, or even had an inkling to enjoy the thrill of driving a car with even an ounce of aggression.
It’s a pretty bad hit piece, petty name-calling and seeking retribution for what they even admit is still unverified accusations. How can you possibly call for someone’s head when you don’t even know what they’ve done, let alone be sure of. This is the real trial by media that should be derided, not random us wondering what he did it and what might happen from the comment section.
Maybe if they care at all they should ask more questions, more often. You know, journalism. Not just jumping on the bandwagon for the clicks.
Kerry Maxwell (@kerrymaxwell)
5th March 2024, 16:04
“still unverified accusations”
They’re still unverified in the sense the papers can’t print the pics Horner sent, but they all have the pics at this point, and while they could possibly be deep fakes, I don’t think there’s much doubt or wondering what happened. The issue is how you feel about the team principal sending inappropriate pics.
ludewig
5th March 2024, 20:56
You are obviously begging the question here.
Mayrton
5th March 2024, 13:16
At this point I think ‘Brilliant’ is reserved for when a media outlet does not cover this soap but ignores it since it is not news worthy and also not true.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
5th March 2024, 22:27
Here is an article that should be in the round-up. It was on the Road and Track site for a day, until they took it down because a sponsor complained. It is an excellent take on the current state of F1, and should not be silenced:
https://web.archive.org/web/20240301170542/https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a46975496/behind-f1-velvet-curtain/
Zann (@zann)
5th March 2024, 23:16
that’s a great read, thanks. Lot of insight
David BR (@david-br)
6th March 2024, 1:48
Wow, thanks for posting that @ferrox-glideh I can see why the ‘sponsor’ might have complained, not what they were expecting or wanting, great writing and insight into the huge wealth bubble F1 floats in.
Stew
6th March 2024, 15:02
A really good read, and I’m really glad to have read it – Thanks.
(I was about to Sign Up for the whole shebang but got redirected to yet a different site to join before I even got anywhere near Car and Driver – No thanks).
DaveW (@dmw)
6th March 2024, 16:45
Great article.
Paul2013
6th March 2024, 11:08
Everytime dads without any experience are involved in Sports It means trouble.
Carlos Sainz (senior) is the opposite, he does not say anything. But verstapen (dad) is a disgrace.