Frustrated farewell? Verstappen fumes with rage

"Basically, everything went wrong. The start, the pit stops, the pace, simply everything," the Formula 1 world champion complained after his disastrous day at work in Bahrain, even calling it a "disaster" at the end. Dropped on the track and falling back to third place in the World Championship, the defending champion's bad mood promptly fueled speculation about a departure from Red Bull.

"The concern is great. Improvements must come in the near future so that he has a car he can win with again," Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko told Sky TV in his usual candid manner. On days like these in Sakhir, the team bosses are repeatedly rudely reminded of the alleged exit clause that is supposed to allow Verstappen to move if the racing team can't offer him a title-capable car.

As possible goals apply to the four-time champion Mercedes Benz – despite all the denials from team boss Toto Wolff in Bahrain – and Aston Martin with design mastermind Adrian Newey. The question is how high Verstappen's frustration tolerance is before he seriously considers other employers.

Breakdown during pit stop "We have to persevere and try to improve the situation. At the moment, we're a bit stuck," said Verstappen. In addition to the technical and aerodynamic weaknesses of his car, there was also a glitch with the team's traffic light system during the pit stop in Sakhir, causing Verstappen to linger unnecessarily long for a tire change.

According to Helmut Marko, there's something wrong with Red Bull. © APA/afp / GIUSEPPE CACACE

"This race has exposed some of our difficulties, which we must address as quickly as possible. We understand where the problems lie, but the solutions will take a little longer," said team principal Christian Horner. After personnel restructuring with the departure of Newey and team manager Jonathan Wheatley, Red Bull is far from the perfection and overwhelming dominance of the height of Verstappen's title-winning years.

"It's tough," admitted the Dutchman. Only his exceptional driving skills are currently keeping Verstappen in the World Championship race, as demonstrated by his unexpected victory in Japan just over a week ago. With 69 points, he has just eight points behind leader Lando Norris and five behind his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri before heading to the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday (19.00:XNUMX p.m./Sky).

Personnel consequences at Red Bull? With his second win of the season in Bahrain, Australian Piastri demonstrated that he may even be McLaren's first contender for the World Championship title. With his cool and flawless performance, he outpaced the entire opposition. Verstappen will probably have to hope that the two McLaren drivers wear each other out in an internal duel that he can still come out on top.

To do this, however, Red Bull must quickly find more speed in the car. An update package is expected to alleviate the worst concerns at the race after next in Imola. However, the root cause of the problems must first be identified. "We don't know where the problem lies," admitted consultant Marko.

An ambitious driver like Verstappen probably won't be happy to hear that. Sky expert Ralf Schumacher is already anticipating personnel consequences after the sobering start to the season. "It's going to be tight for Red Bull. The reshuffling will begin, I'm sure of it," said the former Formula 1 driver.

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Frustrated farewell? Verstappen fumes with rage

Shaking his head, Max Verstappen sat in his lame company car before he began his big reckoning.

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