In advance, three-time world champion Max Verstappen is also the sky-high favorite this Formula 1 season. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), for example, revealed during the test days in Bahrain that nineteen drivers already know that they can win the title this year.
Verstappen himself is not too proud of himself in Bahrain, where the first race of the season will be held next Saturday. “We have had good testing days and I felt very comfortable in the car. It looks promising, but you never really know where you stand in advance. Time will tell and there are many different circuits where you have to be strong. I don’t think about it too much. I wake up, go to the track and then see if the result is good or bad. That’s how I approach it.”
On Wednesday the main question is whether Christian Horner will still be team boss of Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing team this season. The Briton is on his way to Bahrain in a private plane and the outcome of the independent investigation initiated by Red Bull into possible sexual misconduct by Horner is expected later in the day. The employee who made the allegations at the head office in Austria still works every day in Milton Keynes, where the Formula 1 racing stable is located.
Verstappen was not fooled by the whole issue at the press conference: “It has no influence on me, I focus purely on the performance of the car and myself. Hopefully it will be resolved very quickly.”