Eddie Jordan suspects Red Bull employed Formula 1 team orders towards the end of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The former Jordan Grand Prix team boss claimed Christian Horner's squad had an agreement in place to ensure that the team could secure the one-two victory. "I'm a bit concerned because under normal circumstances, Max Verstappen would have won Saudi Arabian Grand Prix," he told OLBG.com . "I think there was an agreement to let Sergio Perez win the race if he had pole and led the race the whole time. What would happen to the team if they didn't let Perez win?" The team was heard over the radio at the end of the race requesting that both drivers slow their pace, following their reports of problems. Max Verstappen was told five times by his engineer Gianpiero Lambiase to set a 1:33.0 lap time, which was over half a second slower than his pace. When told about Verstappen's times, Sergio Perez had a heated exchange before they both were told they were free to push. Verstappen then set the fastest lap on the final lap, denying the Mexican of a clean sweep of points and the opportunity to lead the Drivers' Championship. Jordan added: "If I was Checo, I would not have let Verstappen pass. I think it was agreed that if Verstappen made it to second and Perez was still first, he would let him win the race.
Jordan: Verstappen would have won race if allowed to fight for it
Verstappen had his driveshaft replaced following a failure in qualifying along with reverting to an older gearbox. By this stage Verstappen had been quickest all weekend in the three practice sessions, and Jordan suspects that the Dutchman would have won the race if the team allowed him to fight for it. He explained: "Was I surprised to hear Verstappen complain about a driveshaft? No. "If you have 15 laps to go and there's a problem with the driveshaft, then it's going to break, and you heard the engineers say to Verstappen that the car was fine and under control, I think there was a message there. "I'm probably trying to see behind-the-scenes, but I think Verstappen would have won the race if he was allowed to fight for it."
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