Max Verstappen cut a bemused figure after his Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend was affected by a mechanical problem – but Eddie Jordan is not convinced that the issue was real.
During free practice in Jeddah, the Dutchman was complaining over the radio about his downshifts, hinting at a potential gearbox issue. But when qualifying rolled around, it was a problem with the drive shaft which ended his session prematurely.
Unable to set a lap time in Q2, he was forced to start 15th on the grid. He still breezed through to second place in the race with his extremely fast Red Bull machine, but team-mate Sergio Perez was able to keep him at arm's length to take victory.
During the final stages of that race, Verstappen once again sounded concerned on the radio as he reported further vibrations on his car. He nursed the car home after being reassured by race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, but former F1 team boss Jordan thinks there might have been some posturing going on.
"I think that Max concocted something about a driveshaft so as to make himself look good," he said on the Formula For Success podcast. "I'm absolutely convinced he was told before he went out, if Checo was leading the race, and he's been on pole position, you have not [got] ability and you have not got permission to pass him.
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"That’s just my view. Because if I was running a team, that is exactly what I would have said before they went out. You don't have to be Einstein to work it out. Max, in my opinion, found a decent excuse, which was the driveshaft.
Just one point separates Verstappen and Perez after the first two F1 races of 2023 (Getty Images)" Christian Horner comes out and tells us, 'No matter what we did, we went back to the base, we went and looked at all of the data and we looked at everything, we couldn't find anything'. Guys, come on... There's enough in this to realise that we don't want to be bulls****ed. This was a situation where Max managed the position to hold his face while still taking second place."
But former F1 racer David Coulthard is not convinced Jordan is correct. The Scot replied on the same podcast: "I think Max is so much heart on sleeve, that he doesn't concoct anything – what you see is what you get. A little bit like when he was on the radio saying, 'What's the fastest lap?' And they said, 'Don't think about that'. And he's like, 'Well, I am'.
"He remembers very well, he went into the final race of the world championship in 2021, equal points with Lewis Hamilton, and they were equal to the half point because of half points being awarded earlier in the year. So that one point for fastest lap could make the difference later in the year because clearly, these cars are very close to the edge.
"So I hear you, EJ, and I know you've got your finger on the pulse of the team principals and those that control Formula 1, but I think Max, when he says it, he means that. If he doesn't say it, it's because he doesn't think it."
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