Mouthpiece, team orders, Norris gala Turmoil in Singapore: Verstappen questions Formula 1 future
23.09.2024, 07:01 a.m.
The punishment for a swear word really annoys Max Verstappen. He made this clear again and again around the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Singapore. Now he is even asking himself: How much longer? He is once again able to impress in sporting terms, but one team order gives us a lot to think about.
Norris wins but still cannot be satisfied: At the end of a weekend that he dominated in its entirety, Norris had to be a little annoyed. The fact that Daniel Ricciardo, who drives for Red Bull’s sister team Racing Bulls, made another pit stop shortly before the end to snatch the extra point for the fastest lap from Norris with fresh tires left a bitter aftertaste. Norris, who is now 52 and not 51 points behind Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, took it in good spirits. “I’ll just keep doing my best,” he said after his third win of the season, because he has no influence over anything else. Not complaining, but accepting things, makes sense in the final stretch of the season. Especially since Norris made mistakes now and again despite his comfortable lead in the race. It’s unthinkable that he would have lost this victory because of a mishap.
Max Verstappen questions his future: The world champion was the centre of attention in many ways this weekend in Singapore. Because he had described the performance of his Red Bull car as “fucked” on Thursday, he received a penalty from the International Automobile Federation (FIA). In response, he was extremely taciturn in his response at the Saturday press conference and instead held his own media round outside the press room. Verstappen made it clear what he thought of the behaviour of FIA boss Mohammed Ben Sulayem: namely nothing. The punishment for loose tongues even made him ponder his Formula 1 future. “These kinds of things will definitely decide my future. When you can’t be yourself, you have to deal with stupid things like that.” But he is in a phase of his career where he doesn’t want to deal with things like that all the time. “It’s really exhausting.” He was able to rely on his driving talent even when he was in a bad mood. He came second in qualifying and also in the race. “If the car is fast, world championship titles are easier to achieve.”
McLaren is more than Lando Norris: Verstappen’s challenger Norris is not the only one behind the team’s success. No, Oscar Piastri has also become a reliable points collector. The Australian messed up qualifying, but he finished third in the race. McLaren has continually improved and the car is now by far the fastest in Formula 1. In the constructors’ championship, McLaren is now a comfortable 41 points ahead of Red Bull. And because McLaren is keeping the standard high and Verstappen’s Mexican teammate Sergio Perez is simply not getting going, there is no indication that the balance of power will change again.
Ricciardo once again becomes the deciding factor: Who would have thought that the Australian would play such an important role on his farewell tour in Formula 1? But when the special assignment came to snatch the extra point for the fastest lap from Lando Norris, Ricciardo was there. With fresh tires, he helped his old friend Max Verstappen in the fight for the World Championship. “Thanks, Daniel,” radioed the Dutchman. “If Max wins the World Championship with one point, I’m sure I’ll get a nice Christmas present from him,” said Ricciardo, who will most likely have to vacate his cockpit. The New Zealander Liam Lawson is expected to take his place at the US Grand Prix in Austin in just over a month.
Red Bull’s team order gives a deep insight: The fact that the world champions are not above profiting from such an obvious order to their sister team speaks for itself. Who cares about their own reputation when it’s all about one point that could make the difference in a close World Championship duel? Red Bull wants to bring updates for the RB20 to the race in Austin so that it can keep up with McLaren even without help. No matter what the results of this season end with. At the end of the season, Red Bull will have to conduct a comprehensive analysis and draw conclusions.
