Today Red Bull are celebrating their 20th year in Formula 1 with a special event at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Max Verstappen has been joined by team mate Sergio Perez plus RB drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda among others as they celebrate two decades of competition during which they’ve won the constructors’ championship six times.But despite its strong start to 2024 the team is concerned the championship could slip away from them this year. McLaren have consistently chipped into their lead over the past half-dozen races.
There’s no mystery about which half of Red Bull’s driver pairing is failing to deliver. Over the past six races Perez has scored just 15 points – less even that Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg.
Red Bull extended Perez’s contract to drive for them a month and a half ago. But team principal Christian Horner admitted that weekend that Perez’s poor contributions to their points tally is not a sustainable situation. But the best solution to that problem is far from clear-cut.
Stick with Perez
But as Horner acknowledged, Perez is aware of the pressure he faces, and that is rarely something which helps a driver produce their best.
“Of course Checo is under pressure,” Horner told media including RaceFans at Silverstone. “That’s normal in Formula 1 and when you’re under-delivering that pressure only amounts. And he’s aware of that, he knows that.”
“He knows it’s unsustainable to not be scoring points,” Horner added. “We have to be scoring points with that car and he knows that. He knows his role and his target and so nobody is more eager than Checo to get back.”
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Promote Tsunoda
“Yuki’s a Red Bull Racing driver, he’s on a Red Bull Racing contract and signed him because he’s been performing well,” said Horner. “So we’re very aware of his performances.”
However Red Bull’s commitment to the 24-year-old, now in his fourth season at their junior squad, has always seemed lukewarm. Question marks remain over his temperament, though he has tried to rein in his tendency to mouth off on the radio. Despite his many years with their backing, Tsunoda is yet to test for the senior team. “You never know, maybe he’ll get a test one day,” said Horner when asked about his prospects last week.
Horner’s assessment of Tsunoda’s chances of a promotion was not exactly a ringing endorsement. “You can never rule anything out,” he said. “Yuki, we have options for multiple years on him because we believe that he’s a talent.”
Promote Ricciardo
Red Bull’s preferred replacement for Perez would surely have been Daniel Ricciardo following his return to the team last year. However despite occasional flashes of his old form he is yet to prove he can consistently perform at a high level.
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At present Ricciardo is the only Red Bull-backed driver on the grid yet to firm up his plans for next year. Even so, Perez’s performances have been so underwhelming of late Red Bull may yet decide to give him a chance in the seat Ricciardo voluntarily relinquished at the end of 2018.
Promote Lawson
However Lawson acquitted himself well when he was called up to drive for AlphaTauri (now RB) last year, and gave Tsunoda a run for his money. Whether Red Bull were impressed enough to consider putting him in the senior team remains to be seen.
Promote Hadjar
Red Bull’s junior driver Isack Hadjar took the lead of the Formula 2 standings last weekend. He has been a consistently strong performer this year, albeit dogged by various technical problems and misfortunes.
He has already driven for Red Bull in practice sessions, including at Silverstone last week. A sudden promotion to the top team still seems unlikely, but Red Bull have been unafraid to make surprise calls like this in the past.
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I say
It feels like Red Bull have painted themselves into a corner by letting some of the more promising talents from their junior roster go over the years – notably Carlos Sainz Jnr – not to mention the hasty decision to extend Perez’s contract earlier this year.
But Perez’s performances have tailed off so badly of late it almost doesn’t matter what Red Bull do at this point, they just need to try something. The occupant of the second car is unlikely to have much of an effect upon Verstappen’s pursuit of the drivers’ title.
All they need is a safe pair of hands to gather points. That calls for experience and so, notwithstanding his indifferent performances so far this year, Ricciardo may still be their best option.
You say
Should Red Bull replace Perez immediately – and if so, with who? Cast your vote below and have your say in the comments.
Who is Red Bull's best solution for its Perez problem - right now?
- No opinion (1%)
- Promote someone else (12%)
- Promote Hadjar (3%)
- Promote Lawson (18%)
- Promote Ricciardo (30%)
- Promote Tsunoda (26%)
- Stick with Perez (10%)
Total Voters: 197
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Riker (@corsair)
14th July 2024, 9:32
Promote Ricciardo if you want a safe pair of hands that can put the car into the points. He very rarely crashes and with that Red Bull will easily manage a top 5 position.
That frees up a seat at RB for Lawson.
Problem solved.
Armchair Expert (@armchairexpert)
14th July 2024, 10:37
Easily manage a top 5 position? What are you basing it on? Because according to Andrew Benson from BBC:
And that’s 2-3 tenths on the next quickest, so Norris or Leclerc. Max would be at least 0.5s quicker than Ricciardo, so good luck with scoring bigger points in 3rd or 4th quickest car that Red Bull is now.
Nick T.
14th July 2024, 21:25
The level of twisting of facts and seeming hostility toward Ricciardo is hilarious. First of all, there’s no way to compare Daniel’s valleys to Checo’s struggles. Getting beaten by Logan more than Albon level struggles. As for consistency, I guess beating Yuki three races in a row prior to Austria wasn’t enough for people to get off the zero consistency train or the fact that they’ve shown near identical race pace in the two races since then and his highs have been higher than Yuki. He also has been a very safe pair of hands at RB and unlike some spurious claims above, was not a crasher at McLaren.
I am not saying he’s better than Yuki, but considering RBR seem loath to promote Yuki, it seems more a question between Lawson (which makes no sense to promote him directly to RBR) and DR.
Most critical of all
A) He’s the only teammate of Max to ever beat him let alone not get humiliated by them
B) We know he loves the Max setup, which has seemed to be the huge issue for all his other teammates who haven’t just not kept pace, but been all over the road and into the wall
C) He’s used to that level of spotlight
Finally, Armchair, your back of a wet cocktail napkin numbers don’t correlate to how reality works in F1.
anon
14th July 2024, 23:09
Nick T., what is perhaps more of a concern for Ricciardo is that both Horner and Marko have also expressed concerns about Ricciardo’s performances this season, with neither of those figures seemingly being convinced that Ricciardo is still capable of performing as well as he did in the past.
Indeed, they’ve commented in the past that, when he rejoined Red Bull, his driving style was noticeably different to what it has been before he left the team. How Ricciardo performed and drove in 2017 might therefore be rather different to today and, from the comments they made, the implication was that they thought his performance had declined since 2017.
Jo
14th July 2024, 10:55
DR has been so lost many years now.
Damon (@damon)
14th July 2024, 11:46
“safe pair of hands”???
Ricciardo has been performing the same as Perez for many seasons now! Perez = Ricciardo
Ricciardo doesn’t deserve the car he is already driving, so why on Earth would you give him F1’s best car to drive?! Because he used to be fast a decade ago? A decade ago Perez was also fast.
It’s Tsunoda or Lawson.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
14th July 2024, 13:34
He crashed pretty often in the Mclaren when he had his terrible season a few years back.
Michael (@freelittlebirds)
14th July 2024, 14:57
@corsair they should try Tsunoda. They still have half a season left.
Asd
14th July 2024, 15:14
“safe pair of hands”???
Ricciardo has been performing the same as Perez for many seasons now! Perez = Ricciardo
Ricciardo doesn’t deserve the car he is already driving, so why on Earth would you give him F1’s best car to drive?! Because he used to be fast a decade ago? A decade ago Perez was also fast.
It’s Tsunoda or Lawson.
Nick T.
14th July 2024, 21:30
You’re a huge Lawson fan. Why would you even want to see him put in the career destroying position of driving in the RBR for his first half season? It could result him not even getting a second season. You have to remember, as long as Checo leaves, Lawson wins.
Alan S Thomson
15th July 2024, 20:45
Lawson? Have you learned nothing from Gasly or Albon?
Mason (@gcmaso)
16th July 2024, 1:54
My thoughts exactly. Knows the team
Can handle Max and the expecting. Just needs the car to give him the podium spots he can deliver.
Dale
19th July 2024, 18:59
Hahaha … the guy who’s been dumped early because he was smoked by his teammate, who is now being smoked by his current (and non-A-List driver) teammate … and you think he can do better than Perez!!
Hahaha
James Coulee
14th July 2024, 9:46
I guess Ricciardo should be considered at Red Bull instead of Perez as a stopgap only until the end of the season.
He may not be the most performing option but he’s the only option that can hit the deck running at Red Bull in the middle of a season due to his long past there.
That will give Red Bull half a season plus the summer break to assess and prepare a more definitive driver for 2025 and onwards. (What happens to Ricciardo then… I don’t know.)
BasCB (@bascb)
15th July 2024, 22:15
Why though? I really see no advantage there – Ricciardo has still shown to be erratic in when he does well and when not, he himself is not even sure exactly why, giving you pretty much the same kind of issue you have with Perez.
And RB knows Perez, Verstappen feels safe with Perez there etc. Reality is that nobody really cares for the constructors championship. Sure, it gives them more money, but then it also limits the amount of development, making it somewhat of a trade off.
EffWunFan (@cairnsfella)
14th July 2024, 9:56
I would have gone for Ricciardo had that been an option**, however I can’t help but feel looking elsewhere would be the wisest option, at least in the short term. Liam deserves a chance, but I feel they should take advantage of the RB’s junior team status to bring him in slowly (or at least slowly-ish). Didn’t do Max any harm. Too soon for Hadjar (just an opinion). Yuki. Flashes of impressive speed and perhaps more consistent than he was, but whilst his temperament may have improved I can still see him being a bit of a liability if given the chance to fight at the sharp end.
Perez is undoubtedly a solid driver, but the fact that he cannot demonstrate it consitently enough is not good enough for a team that ‘should’ be in a much stronger constructors championship position.
And who is this ‘Ricciaerdo’ chap?
** just kidding.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
14th July 2024, 10:54
Ahah, indeed, I guess he changed his surname in order to try and find more performance!
Yes, they’re all a bit meh options, I voted for tsunoda cause on performance he deserves a chance at the top team, but I also don’t know if his temperament could cause problems with a really competitive car.
I would only take ricciardo if he could be more consistent, and I wouldn’t put any rookie or near-rookie in a red bull, without giving them a decent amount of races in the minor team.
BlueChris (@bluechris)
14th July 2024, 9:58
Sainz is the best solution. RB must stop playing with inexperienced kids out burned previous RB drivers.
From next year the things will be worse since the other teams steadily closing to them and to have only 1 good driver giving points to the team is bad.
notagrumpyfan
14th July 2024, 10:04
Sainz is indeed the strongest option.
However if it is about fairness then they should get De Vries back to finish his rookie season.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
14th July 2024, 10:55
Oh, yes, I was reading the article and completely forgot the best option is from the outside, sainz is indeed fully deserving of the red bull seat, should be a big improvement over perez and is also not fast enough to trouble verstappen.
AlanD
14th July 2024, 13:45
The question posed in this article is “right now”. Sainz isn’t a right now option.
MichaelN
14th July 2024, 14:44
We’ve seen mid-season swaps before when a driver was heading to another team. It’s not even close to likely, but not impossible either. But Ferrari’s lack of alternatives, other than Bearman, probably makes it a non-starter.
Mark
15th July 2024, 16:43
Perez and Ricciardo have not been the same since catching COVID 19 which has a >10% chance of turning into Long Covid. Hamilton is out of the loop now for development at Mercedes-Benz. Sainz has proven hands and has won races recently. Both Max and Sainz are older now and more (hopefully) mature and their respective families should take a backseat.
Do a Mid-season break swap of Hamilton to Ferrari, Sainz to Red Bull (with a no-touch the other Red Bull Contract) and Perez to the wind citing lack of proformance. Hamilton would get a half season to get up to speed at Ferrari before next year. Red Bull gets Championship points. MB gets to plug in Antonelli and gets development input from him.
David BR (@david-br)
14th July 2024, 23:15
Tsunoda now and Sainz for 2025 if available.
S
14th July 2024, 10:20
The ‘problem’ will persist no matter who it is because the source of this problem isn’t the driver.
It’s truly a poisoned chalice of a contract. Many racing drivers would never sign up to this.
Perez did, because he basically had no other options.
M2X
14th July 2024, 10:28
How could Red Bull have survived having both Verstappen and Sainz in one team?
Red Bull is barely able to survive some whatsapp messages and pictures.
The team would have been ripped apart by political games by both families. It already happened at Toro Rosso and that was just the first season for either family.
For this year Ricciardo is the only option.
You need someone with experience at top level. You can’t risk Tsunoda crumbling under the pressure.
And you need someone that is capable with driving car with a similar setup as Verstappen’s.
James Bond (@jamesbond)
15th July 2024, 7:51
This!
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
14th July 2024, 10:45
I would stick with Perez. Although I anticipate another trying Hungarian Grand Prix for him, I expect him to do better at the faster tracks like Spa, Monza, Baku, and CotA, so it could still be a decent second half of the year for him.
Ricciardo and Tsunoda would be safe options if Red Bull do not want to gamble on Perez’s improved form, but I would say Lawson and Hadjar first need to prove themselves (in my opinion) in the second team.
I would also love to be surprised by Red Bull bringing in someone from the outside, but who could they get that would fit the bill? Bring Nico Rosberg back out of retirement? ;-)
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
14th July 2024, 10:58
Well, sainz is an obvious choice if they want to go from someone who’s not currently in a red bull related team.
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
14th July 2024, 11:37
For next season, sure, I agree they should get Sainz (also fun for us spectators to see Max gets some competition again from the other side of the garage), but do you mean to say they should poach him from Ferrari? That’s not going to be cheap.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
14th July 2024, 12:40
He’ll be out of Ferrari as Lewis is coming in. A free agent essentially.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
14th July 2024, 10:59
Truthfully I’m at a loss.
For starters, anyone with a handful of races or less should be discounted – this is a real championship battle, not a finishing school.
Personally, I don’t think Tsunoda is up to it – he’s having a good season but when the big results are there it’s always Daniel who picks them up. Combine that with a lack of winning experience anywhere, I can only see this being a Gasly 2.0, which is no better than what they have.
I like Daniel and he’s had some bad luck and strong performances. I can’t really say he deserves it on merit but he almost warrants it by default. Will he score more points than Checo,? Probably in the short term due to , but does he have the high points left in him to get wins like Checo did? I’m not convinced.
Perez himself is clearly a liability. It’s been the same story the past 3 season – decent start, hopeless middle. The trough is just lower this time. My worry for 2021 with Checo was that his weakness in quali means that he’s always starting 8th in a close 4 team battle. Team that with a lack of overtaking ability and it’s grim viewing.
So, for me it’s a question of: will Daniel be able to quali closer to Max than Checo? I don’t see much evidence that DR3 can but I suspect he’ll be willing be, more as a reflection on Checo than Daniel.
SteveP
14th July 2024, 14:55
I’m not sure where you get the “big results” coming from Daniel, this looks like the bigger results are from Tsunoda.
All results this season:
Ricciardo AUS VCARB 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 0
Tsunoda JPN VCARB 0 0 6 1 0 0 1 6 1 4 0 0 0 0 1
Pure numbers alone, Daniel is second of two. Beaming smiles and school boy humour do not put points on the board, as the numbers above demonstrate.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
14th July 2024, 19:05
When I refer to big results I mean the type of positions that are unexpected for an RB. Tsunoda is great at the finishing where the car should be consistently – mostly lower end of the top 10. But the big days like Mexico last year, Miami sprint or Canada quali it’s Daniel that steps up. When the car is really on it capable of the surprise performance in a narrow window, it’s Daniel who gets on top of the car.
If we look at last season Tsunoda’s best result 8th, Daniel 7th. In 2022, Yuki 8th, Gasly 5th. A lot of very good drivers are consistent without generating special performances. Say what you like about Daniel, when the car is there at RB, he delivers and the only occasion the McLaren was there, he delivered despite having horrible performances when the cars not to his liking. We have to believe the Red Bull will have a better window for him than McLaren or RB.
Nick T.
14th July 2024, 22:06
Agreed, RBAlonso.
anon
14th July 2024, 22:19
@rbalonso was that argument also not used in Perez’s favour at times too, in that there were times when his team mates were usually more consistent point scorers, but Perez would get those occasional high finishing positions that would generate significant buzz around him and the team?
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
15th July 2024, 7:06
Perhaps it was, I always felt that for 2021 Perez made more sense as a Ferrari driver and Sainz as a RBR driver.
I think Perez is a very good Grand Prix driver, but like Gasly and Albon before him, has found himself stuck in a rut devoid of confidence with a team who are unwilling to compromise the car development in case it moves it away from Max. On his day, with the car suited to his style he has been able to win races – not totally on merit, but a lot closer than he is now.
I suspect that Red Bull dropped Albon knowing they were in with a chance of the title in 21 and needed a reliable pair of hands. It’s a similar case now – Daniel, like Perez in 21, is never going to challenge Max but he might have the confidence to get them results to the end of the year. Neither look like long term options.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
14th July 2024, 11:00
Due to confidence*
Le Jimster (@lejimster82)
14th July 2024, 11:28
Out of all the candidates Lawson has the most potential imho. While it would be exciting to see him parachute into Checo’s seat, I want to see him get a proper chance alongside Yuki in the sister team. If they don’t sign him over the summer break I hope other teams are genuinely looking at him because he shouldn’t be sidelined any longer.
BLS (@brightlampshade)
14th July 2024, 11:39
Short term option – Ricciardo
Long term – now there the big question. It’s near impossible to drop a rookie into the RBR and get results, ideally they need to go via RB.
So that’s probably the answer, throw someone in short term who’s well established and aim to replace with an up and coming in 2026.
All complicated of course with the concept of what happens if Verstappen does move out.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
14th July 2024, 11:43
I’ve gone with Tsunoda because I think he has earned a shot at a top car.
Rickiadoodoo would be a safe pair of hands for sure but I think it could cause issues with Max and they can’t afford to upset Max as there is a chance he may quit if he isn’t happy.
Hiring Sainz could be great fun as well.
MichaelN
14th July 2024, 11:44
Sainz is the obvious pick here. He’s not at Verstappen’s level, but has shown himself to be a match for pretty much 16 or even 17 of the other drivers.
José Lopes da Silva
14th July 2024, 12:29
The best solution right now is Alonso, as it has been for more than some 11 years now since he started searching for a winning team
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
14th July 2024, 13:38
Stroll has been looking better than Alonso for half the current season though – and has scored more points in the past 6 races. Alonso certainly isn’t at the level to deserve that seat – unless you think stroll is.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
14th July 2024, 13:42
And saying that, over the past 6 races, Perez has only scored 14 points, while Stroll in a far worse car has scored 13 and alonso even lower than that.
José Lopes da Silva
14th July 2024, 14:11
People have been saying that Hamilton is not at the level for 2 and a half seasons now.
Of course the time to retire will arrive for Alonso as for anyone and maybe the fact that AM is down is disguising it. But given his curricula, that is too premature to assert.
SteveP
14th July 2024, 15:04
Alonso and Verstappen in the same team?
Ok, I have the beer and comfy seat, I need to go out and get a large stock of popcorn – that explosive entertainment could be a good watch.
Pay per view figures would be phenomenal.
Moi
14th July 2024, 12:36
Get de Vries for the remaining races of this season. Cannot get much worse anyway, and he deserves to show what he can do with a decent car.
Failing that, promote Tsunoda and get Lawson in his seat.
Laz
14th July 2024, 14:40
In what way does De Vries ‘deserve’ to show what he can do with a decent car over any of the other drivers, including the one who beat him?
notagrumpyfan
14th July 2024, 17:32
The active driver alternatives could all finish their rookie season!
Tsunoda has been ‘written off’ during his rookie (and subsequent) season more than De Vries.
I don’t expect any miracles; but neither do I expect anything from the others.
Only Facts!
14th July 2024, 12:37
I would give Ricciardo a chance. He can’t go worse than Perez at this time.
For 2025, it’s a lot harder. If Max is going places in 2026, than Sainz is the only option to become RB #1. Piastri of course is a very good candidate, but who knows what type of deal has to be put together…
Coventry Climax
14th July 2024, 13:10
As an engineer, should any of my tools or appliances brake down, I repair them or replace them; I don’t ever wait for them to repair themselves.
Depending on the intended intensity and frequency to using that tool, I decide on brand and quality, but I already limit my choices to higher level models to begin with anyway, as I want the thing to reliably do what it should; I can’t stand things working eratically. Brands that let me down are consistently scrapped from my list.
Perez is your typically broken tool, operating bad and erratic.
It would seem to me that any of Red Bull’s options can be expected to function better and less erratic.
Even Yuki and Ricciardo, allthough they too, fall into the erratic group.
They used to be relentless with their seats. I’d say, go back to that and give all your options a try. The points haul on the other side of the garage is lost anyway already, thanks to continuing with a broken tool, waaayyyy too long.
Appoint a temporary, dedicated right hand team manager to Horner to deal with it if you like, and if Horner wants to concentrate on other things.
But do something, and don’t wait for the tool to repair itself.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
14th July 2024, 13:58
Excellent analogy, that I can personally relate to.
So – we have to ask ourselves.
Given that Horner and the string pullers at Red Bull are not idiots …. does this mean that Perez is – actually – operating as intended?
Coventry Climax
14th July 2024, 21:39
Moreover:
We’ve heard a lot of rumour that the string pullers may not be pulling on the same side of the string currently?
Even if I’m not a big believer of that theory, he might be operating as intended by part of the string pullers.
But what the heck then, is their intention?
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
15th July 2024, 10:50
I expect that their intention is to extract as much capital from Carlos Slim for as long as they can. I can think of no other logical reason for Red Bull to keep Checo around.
Maciek (@maciek)
14th July 2024, 14:23
For me it’s a toss up between Tsunoda and Lawson – Tsunoda just being the more entertaining choice for my money. I really fail to see what grounds you can have at this point to put Ricciardo in there. Surely he hasn’t done any better than Perez and demonstrably has done considerably less well than Tsunoda.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
14th July 2024, 14:41
It’s not a great time to be joining Red Bull…
Alonso’s the obvious star whose talent’s being wasted. That’s if he’s not too far gone, like Ricciardo. Sainz would do what he’s doing for Ferrari – loads more points than Checo, but I can’t see him beating the McLarens & Mercs every week.
AndrewT (@andrewt)
14th July 2024, 14:56
I think this situation is a bit harsh for Perez. Yes, he used to have his in-season slumps in all his Red Bull years, and yes, even if he crawls out of it sometimes in this season and could start scoring points again, Red Bull might not be in such a powerful position that Perez is guaranteed to finish on the podium even on his finest days.
If the swap is for the remainder of this season, I would like to try Tsunoda, he’s finally been delivering standout performances this season, and Red Bull did promote drivers with much less of a showing earlier. For a driver that spent his entire career in the midfield, it might be a tough adaptation to fight for the constructors title, and going wheel-to-wheel with the aces used to battles on the sharper end of the grid, but what is there to lose?
Ricciardo used to be a complete driver but I’m not sure if he could regain that confidence and improve his adaptability he is required to have for this substitution. As a stop-gap solution, he would be my second choice.
Lawson kicked F1’s door in last year, but with 5 GPs behind him, I don’t see him joining the defending champions. He needs some time in the RB, maybe this year, maybe next year (too) to feel ready for a Red Bull seat alongside Verstappen, but in the long-term, he is the future of Red Bull.
If the swap is for next season, for me it’s a no-brainer to sign the strongest looking free-agent Sainz.
Coventry Climax
14th July 2024, 15:15
Harsh? We’re talking F1 for Pete’s sake. He’s been treated with miles and miles of unappropriate leniency for way too long already.
Think you’ll miraculously do better at another team? OK, bye, go prove it.
AndrewT (@andrewt)
14th July 2024, 15:35
If you remember, he used to be one of the kings in the midfield, maybe he still can be, even if a top team exceeds his limitations. One can be an excellent company commander and a terrible division commander at the same time, just need to find the optimal operating level.
Coventry Climax
14th July 2024, 17:24
Which I why I said go prove it somewhere else. It’s obvious he’s not the best choice for Red Bull.
On being midfield king: He wasn’t consistently that level, even back then. Yes, he can be fast at times, but he’s always made clumsy and dubious mistakes. His best races have probably always been recovery races, which frankly, means he could have been higher up if he’d not made it a recovery race in the first place.
He was picked up by McLaren, and unceremoniously dumped again, after poor performances. Now why on earth would that be – despite all the mexican money.
Olivier
14th July 2024, 16:10
The safest way to find out is to promote Ricciardo to Red Bull mid-season. This will put both Tsunoda and Lawson in the RB team, allowing for a better comparison.
If Ricciardo fails at Red Bull, the best performer in the RB team can be promoted to Red Bull.
Stephen Taylor
14th July 2024, 16:10
With the greatest of respect to both Keith here and the people who have voted in the poll below using experience as the hardline reason to give Ricciardo the job are being a tad naive . Having someone with experience is only only any any good if that experience brings with it conistent performance . I think people are wanting to see Ricciardo back in a Red Bull are being overly sntimental in the hope that theat he will will somehow magically rediscover his old form. I don’t think it was really fair to hold a poll. Ricciardo is always likely to get the sway of the vote in those kind of polls due to fanbase size.
Coventry Climax
15th July 2024, 14:58
Isn’t that what happens with every poll?
(Or any round of voting for our new political leaders, for that matter.)
MichaelN
14th July 2024, 16:52
Pérez finished 2nd, 2nd, 5th, 2nd, 3rd, 4th in the first six races of the year. Totally fine results.
Then came Imola. The ‘big upgrade’ to the wings and floor.
From that race on, Verstappen was suddenly hounded by McLaren and Pérez dropped into the midfield.
Pérez has certainly underperformed. But something at Red Bull has gone very wrong with the RB20.
It’s one thing if other teams come closer. It’s quite something else if a dominant team just throws away their advantage.
Blaming Pérez, while justified to a degree, is also a bit of a distraction. Horner’s crew has bungled the RB20 updates.
Coventry Climax
14th July 2024, 17:31
That’s just not a very credible explanation.
Red Bull have all the data, and would have gone back to the old floor if the new one wasn’t performing to expectations and slower than before.
They also have a no. 1 driver who usually does not hesitate to speak his mind, contrary to the trend.
Then we have not heard Perez himself complain about there being such a situation.
Sorry, I don’t buy it. There’s more consistency in Perez’ consistently bad results, than there is in Red Bull creating bad updates and swiping that under the carpet.
MichaelN
14th July 2024, 19:48
It’s not a case of swiping it under the carpet, but what are the alternatives? They’ve undoubtedly lost a good chunk of their advantage starting around the Miami (McLaren upgrade) and Imola (Red Bull upgrade) races. Red Bull outright dominated the start of the season, and when one looks back at articles from a variety of outlets from March and April, many of them are full on in a “oh no it’ll be awful until 2026” funk. Now it’s totally different.
It’s very much possible that Red Bull’s updated RB20 is better than the one at the start of the season, but if they went from say a 90/100 performance score to a 92/100, whereas McLaren went from an 80/100 to a 90/100 (numbers obviously used merely to illustrate the point), they’ve still lost a ton of their earlier advantage. And as we’ve seen so often before, when it gets tighter at the top the likes of Bottas, Massa, and now Pérez start tumbling down the order. Bottas for example was 5th in the WDC in 2018, Pérez is now 6th.
Coventry Climax
14th July 2024, 21:50
Yep, and that says it’s due to others having picked up, not to Red Bull having brought the wrong upgrades.
Not as big a step forward as the others maybe, but there’s a couple possible explanations:
– Red Bull being BoPped to a larger extent aero-wise than others
– that’s generally what rules staying the same does for you
– Newey cleaning out his desk early
I’m sure there’s more possible explanations, and then hey, it could very well also be ‘all of the above’.
Alan S Thomson
15th July 2024, 20:49
You know you contribute nothing of value to this conversation
Coventry Climax
16th July 2024, 12:08
Feel better now?
And thank you for this wonderful insight.
Electroball76
14th July 2024, 17:03
They could try and poach Albon back from Williams? Trade them Perez in exchange.
Coventry Climax
14th July 2024, 17:33
I would hope Albon himself has a say in that matter and gracefully declines. He’s fine -and appreciated- just where he is.
Not possible, but have him do a test run for Red Bull would be another matter.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
14th July 2024, 17:35
Good point about being appreciated, he can either be the hero at williams or the mediocre driver at red bull.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
14th July 2024, 17:34
From what people are saying, albon doesn’t want to come back to red bull, which I find odd, you don’t often get a chance at a top team, unless he knows he won’t be better than his first attempt.
Jere (@jerejj)
14th July 2024, 19:14
Electroball76 If they truly desired him to return, they would’ve already done that before he committed to at least two more seasons beyond next season.
Philip (@philipgb)
14th July 2024, 19:05
Red Bull don’t need to do anything right now. Verstappen is likely still going to win them both constructors championships regardless of what the second driver is managing. Perez also likely brings a decent chunk of sponsorship money to the table
Next year if the championship isn’t so clear cut they still have Ricciardo in waiting knowing that he’s probably a better option than Perez. But it’s a case of been there done that and sold some t-shirts. Ricciardo isn’t the future of Red Bull, Verstappen was already surpassing him when he was on his way out and is probably even stronger now. So the only reason to bring Ricciardo back is if they need to secure more points with the second car which they currently don’t
Meanwhile they can keep measuring Tsunoda against him to see if there’s actually any promise there and otherwise keep on about their usual business of spotting young talent. Ricciardo had his moment in the spotlight in 2014 but since then hasn’t really delivered on being a generational talent so I don’t see any reason to grace him with the best seat in the sport unless they start desperately needing points for the constructors
Jere (@jerejj)
14th July 2024, 19:16
The sponsorship money aspect from drivers has always been secondary to a big organization like Red Bull, even if they might be less free budgey-wise than in the Mateschitz days.
Jere (@jerejj)
14th July 2024, 19:12
Tsunoda is an easy choice for me based on logic & outright performance, although the Honda PU supply’s end after next season could be a factor against promoting him.
stefano (@alfa145)
14th July 2024, 21:03
give Ricciardo one last final chance for his career
D
14th July 2024, 21:29
Bring in Hertamania!!!
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
14th July 2024, 21:42
If they want the best available driver, they need to swallow their pride and get Sainz onboard. Sadly I can’t see that happening so maybe Lawson as a future prospect?
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
15th July 2024, 4:01
I’ve thought about this more. I reckon Ricciardo to RBR for the rest of this season so Lawson has some more time to acclimatise at RB. If Ricciardo is consistently on the podium, great! Keep him for 2025. If he’s not, promote Lawson (assuming Lawson proves his worth in the RB). I’d still go with Sainz though…
Jonas
14th July 2024, 21:43
Nico Huuuulkenbeeerg.
Sure Marko is regretting not having hired him in 2021 now.
He must have a get-out clause if Red Bull wants him, right?
David BR (@david-br)
14th July 2024, 23:28
I’ve no idea why Red Bull renewed Perez’s contract so quickly. Didn’t they remember his performance last year? And also how his performance worsens after signing a new contract? And hadn’t they noticed that the other teams were closing the gap and maybe they needed a stronger second driver? Why did they renew Ricciardo and Tsunoda pairing for 2024 when it was clear neither was good enough to promote to the first team and there was still clearly a big question mark over Perez?
They’ve been so wrapped up in internal battles, Horner versus Marko/the Verstappens, that they completely overlooked their driver line-up and ended up losing their chief designer. I mean, wow. That could only be worsened by Max Verstappen leaving…
The answer is that there isn’t any obvious solution. Perez won’t improve. But neither Tsunoda or Ricciardo are likely to add much. I feel like Tsunoda ‘deserves’ a go more but I’m not sure that’s a word in the Red Bull vocabulary. For 2025, Sainz, I guess.
Mr Squiggle
15th July 2024, 4:53
If Checo is moved aside, he won’t be discarded.
He’ll just be moved into one of the RB seats. They need to keep that mexican crowd on side
I think a mid-season test for all 5 drivers is shaping up as likely, unless Checo finishes top 5 in the next two races
Bob2 (@bob2)
15th July 2024, 6:52
You would assume DR3 gets the midseason swap, run Lawson in VCARB so you can see which one gets the No. 2 seat at RB in 2025. Tsunoda is not in the discussion, for whatever reason.
2025 gets much more interesting IMO.
1. what happens if Max does jump to Mercedes, assume Carlos gets the ride but can he wait that long before other teams pull any offers – he may end up taking a year off
2. assume Perez goes to Alpine?
RB could ironically find themselves going from having 5 drivers for 4 seats, to 3 drivers for 4 seats. No one in the development pipeline looks up to the step up at this stage so will have to go outside of the pool.
Patrick (@anunaki)
15th July 2024, 9:55
I think they will no switch drivers at all. They seem to have extended Checo’s contract to please Max and I doubt they want to upset him now the Mercedes is in the uprise.
Mayrton
15th July 2024, 10:33
The best option is Bottas. Solid nr 2 driver. Capable of winning and setting poles vs Lewis Hamilton. Says enough I would say.
DaveW (@dmw)
15th July 2024, 17:28
Agree. But I think being an RBR employee would clash with his lifestyle of cycling, traveling, etc He’s living his best life why join the pressure cooker at RBR when he’ll never win a title there.
Mayrton
16th July 2024, 9:50
I agree. He shouldn’t do it. I remember he wasn’t that happy back then with the Valtteri, it’s James messaging. But from RedBull perspective I would approach him.
Ricciardo (@sotirbebi)
15th July 2024, 11:34
Ricciardo is the best option red bull has for now, he has been team mate with max before, they know each other habits and racing styles. Ricciardo is a 8 times race winner, for sure he will be listed in top drivers as before. Red bull should try him and will provide a new champion, 100%
Ankita
15th July 2024, 11:52
I said it before. PER should go to the sister team. He is not for a top team but he was the best midfielder for many years (podiums, points). The problem for RBR is who could replace him. They need someone almost as fast as VER but willing to go ahead of him. This profile does not exist.
ErwinUDB (@euitdebos)
15th July 2024, 15:20
What about Drugovich? He must be fed up waiting for Aston Martin to get him a seat.
They also have Jak Crawford in waiting, to step into the shoes of Felipe
@denn (@denn)
15th July 2024, 15:49
promote Tsunoda, give Lawson the other RB seat, knock Perez to RB’s backup driver
DaveW (@dmw)
15th July 2024, 17:26
I would love to know more about why they won’t even give tsunoda a test in the lead team but still keep him around. He’s not bringing a ton of money as far as I know. He’s not tied to the engine deal either, directly. He has a saucy temperament but so does Verstappen.
SteveR (@stever)
16th July 2024, 0:20
Tsunoda doesn’t have a ‘saucy’ temperament, he has an immature one. He is improving though and learning to just shut up sometimes; a skill worth having.
Valandil (@valandil)
16th July 2024, 1:05
Personally I remain convinced it doesn’t matter who goes in the seat, they will all fail.
Kvyat failed. Gasly failed. Albon failed. All miserably. All were seen as big talents when they got the nod, and two of the three have proven to be good enough to stay in F1.
And now Perez is failing. No smoke without fire, its happend far too often to be a coincidence. Perez is one of the most known quantities on the grid. He might not be an absolute top-tier talent, but he’s proven he’s got what it takes many, many times.
The problem lies somewhere in the team and the way they operate – it doesn’t matter who you put in there, they will also fail.
When troubleshooting, you should only ever change one variable at a time – so best to stick with a driver thats a known quantity. Hence they re-signed him imo….
Honda
16th July 2024, 1:27
RBR rate Ricciardo very highly but he is unable to beat his team mate in these 12races. At half way mark Yuki has 9-3 lead in qualifying and 20-11pts. Advantage in both speed and consistency. 7times in Q3 with 1 P11. Ricciardo has 2 Q3 and 2 P11. Yuki scored in 6races and Ricciardo in 2 races. Ricciardo only has 2-1 lead in SR and SQ so far.
I think Perez will continue after summer break.