Former F1 team principal Eddie Jordan has recently pointed out Max Verstappen for cooking up a ‘driveshaft’ story to look good in everyone’s eyes. This comes after the Dutchman suffered a driveshaft issue during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix qualification.
In a conversation with Formula For Success, Jordan stated that the defending champion “concocted” the mechanical issue in Jeddah. Verstappen wanted to start from the back and come back to win the race and “look good.”
Q2 Final Update: Driveshaft mechanical failure confirmed for Car 1.
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 18, 2023
The founder of Eddie Jordan Racing thinks Verstappen has done this to increase his hype and let the world know how good of a driver he is. When the grid is so closely knit together, he wanted to come back from P15 and take the victory; he feels.
The BBC pundit joined hands with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who thinks the same as him. According to reports, Wolff joked Red Bull might have done it purposely to get the win from the back.
Driveshaft was Verstappen’s decent excuse
As the Dutch pilot believed to have wanted to start from the back and finish up front, the driveshaft was his decent excuse, the former F1 team boss feels.
He said that one doesn’t need to be an Einstein to work it out. The Red Bull driver, in his opinion, found a nice excuse to do what is needed, which was the driveshaft.
🚨| Red Bull confirmed after qualifying that a driveshaft mechanical failure was the fault that caused Max Verstappen to end his qualifying early. #F1 #SaudiArabianGP pic.twitter.com/eyOTPjeBZU
— AnythingF1 (@AnythingF1_) March 19, 2023
The 25-year-old driver started the race from P15 and crossed the chequered flag in P2 behind his teammate Sergio Perez. Perez started the race from P1 after claiming Pole and kept his lead throughout the race.
Jordan supports Horner’s take on Perez against Verstappen
The BBC personality also supported Red Bull team principal Christian Horner’s call in Jeddah. The call-in Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was an important one, and it helped the team maintain stability, he thinks.
He said that he believes Horner has made everything clear to the two-time world champion. If the Mexican driver takes the pole and keeps his lead, the Dutchman will have no permission to pass him.
Furthermore, he also shared that he would have done the same if he was in charge. Admittedly, given both RB-19s are evenly equipped, it would have been almost impossible for the defending champion to close in on Perez with fewer laps in hand in Jeddah.
