Miguel A. HerguedasSpecial Envoy Jeddah

Jeddah Special Envoy

Updated Sunday, March 10, 2024-20:51

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On Saturday, an hour and a half before the start of the Saudi Arabia GP, two moments intertwined in the

paddock

.

A couple of scenes that show the current moment of F1, shaken lately by all kinds of scandals and rumors.

A turbulent present compressed into the luxurious facilities of the Corniche Circuit.

The younger local tycoons, seeking autographs, made room for

Oliver Mintzlaff

, the CEO of Red Bull, who crossed the scene at a brisk pace, trying to contain the curiosity of the journalists.

Just a few meters away,

Toto Wolff

watched the spectacle from the Mercedes

hospitality and said goodbye to

Carlos Sainz

's family with a hug

.

The Madrid driver, looking for a seat for 2025, had appeared by surprise among a cloud of spotlights to follow the race from the Ferrari garage.

Despite his recent appendicitis operation, all that spectacle, for him too, was worth it.

Red Bull's critical moment, with

Christian Horner

under the spotlight, has attracted media attention over the last two weeks.

The

main team

not only had to overcome accusations from an employee for "inappropriate behavior", but also had to put order in her garage.

Before

Jos Verstappen

, father of the three-time world champion, and before

Helmut Marko

, once a faithful advisor, now accused of leaking.

Both have aligned themselves against the boss, inflaming the climate of civil war.

In fact, before landing 10 days ago in Bahrain, many already considered Horner to be amortized.

But he, with two decades of experience on the carpets of the Great Circus, was not going to hand over his head just like that.

Just a few hours after the armistice between Marko and Mintzlaff and the double of

Max Verstappen

and

Sergio Pérez

on the asphalt, Horner launched a headline as a warning: "No person is bigger than the team."

He was alluding, of course, to Verstappen, who the day before had reiterated his unwavering loyalty to Marko.

When they pressed him about a hypothetical departure from his champion, Horner didn't even raise an eyebrow.

"Max is a wonderful pilot, but in here everyone has a role to play. Never say I won't drink that water. If a pilot doesn't want to be in one place, he will go somewhere else."

And that destination, obviously, could only be Mercedes.

Hence the interest, tinged with his usual adequacy, with which Wolff observed Mintzlaff's rush around the

paddock

.

After the first two rounds of the World Championship, the Silver Arrows have only added 46 points, unable to even keep up with Ferrari.

And the loss of

Lewis Hamilton

, on his way to Maranello in 2025, hurts Toto in the soul.

To fill the void of the seven-time champion, no one is as qualified as Verstappen, as the Austrian admitted.

"It's Max's decision, but all the teams on the grid would do their best to have him in their car."

Mercedes says it is not in a hurry with this matter, but the truth is that, the way things are going at Red Bull, the outcome could be precipitated.

For now, the Austrian faction of the team, led by Marko and Verstappen's entourage, got a breath of oxygen on Saturday.

"I will continue in my position," confirmed the veteran advisor, after his cordial meeting with Mintzlaff.

He was never used to being gagged, but Marko will have to watch his every step from now on.

Because Horner has had enough of the pretense of his alleged official spokesperson.

And above all, because he considers him the mole who leaked the documents of his sexual scandal.

Likewise, the German network RTL announced on Saturday that the

main team

had offered 700,000 euros in compensation to the worker who reported it.

A sum that would increase to one million euros thanks to the compensation from the team itself.

Horner, as everyone in the

paddock

already knows , has the favors of the Thai

Chalerm Yoovidhya

, owner of 51% of the shares of Red Bull GmbH.

It seems that the British faction, from its factory in Milton Keynes and from its headquarters in Bangkok, is winning the war.