On the 18th of February, each Formula 1 team was involved in an event at the O2 Arena in London, where all the liveries of the 2025 single-seaters were unveiled.
Verstappen does what he wants. And seems to get away with it...
Each team unveiled its livery in a different way from its rivals, but there was one element that had to unite them all, at least on paper: releasing statements to the press.
These moments would literally take 30 seconds of generic speech, in which the two drivers and the team principal revealed their expectations about the season to come.
Yet, when Red Bull's turn came up, neither one of Max Verstappen, Liam Lawson and Christian Horner said a word in the microphones. It was natural for us to wonder why that happened, and we may have come up with a plausible answer...
Was it already planned?
Following a quick double-check, we verified that, in the event's schedule, it was already expected for the Milton Keynes team not to release any statements.
The only possible reason concerns the reigning world champion's consideration of the O2 Arena presentation. "I hope I'm sick that day", he had said a few months ago when asked about it.
Unfortunately for him, he was still forced to show up, but at least he made his appearance last as little time as possible.
Verstappen's polemical attitude has seen him being different from any other driver since his arrival in Formula 1, but such a blatant supremacy over the sport's authorities has never been noticed before.
Was it because of the "leverage" his four world titles have, or to avoid any reference of his disdain for the event itself? We cannot know, but one thing is for sure: what happened is proof that the Dutchman finds ways to win political power struggles. Let's hope the same doesn't happen with track-related decisions....
