Verstappen eyes perfect 10 at Albert Park amid Red Bull discord

MELBOURNE: Formula One champion Max Verstappen will bid to win back-to-back Australian Grands Prix on Sunday (Mar 24) and match his record of 10 successive race victories even as Red Bull struggle to move on from off-track controversy.

Another chequered flag at Albert Park would see the Dutchman equal last year's run of 10 wins from Miami to the Italian Grand Prix and leave rivals dwindling further in the rearview mirror.

Verstappen led a Red Bull 1-2 with Sergio Perez at both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, though the early season triumphs have been tempered by team discord and allegations against boss Christian Horner.

Horner was cleared of alleged misconduct toward a Red Bull employee but the unidentified woman lodged an appeal after her complaint was dismissed, British media reported last week, ensuring the controversy will rumble on in Melbourne.

Red Bull GmbH, the Formula One champions' Austria-based parent company, has not commented on the reports but said before the season that the accuser had a right of appeal.

While the saga has had no perceivable impact on Verstappen's performance, the driver's father, Jos Verstappen, said after the Bahrain Grand Prix that the team risked being torn apart if Horner stayed in charge.

Those comments triggered fears Verstappen may look elsewhere from 2025 but the triple world champion, contracted to 2028, said things would have to "go really crazy" for that to happen.

Verstappen is already 15 points clear of team mate Perez and 23 ahead of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, raising the prospect that both the drivers' and constructors' championships may end up a repeat of last year's procession.

With Red Bull's RB20 performing at a different level to rival cars, the intrigue so far has focused on