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Daniel Austin
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In a matter of just a couple of months, Red Bull have gone from the most dominant team in the history of Formula 1 to facing the prospect of a genuine fight for the both the divers’ and constructors’ championships this season.
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The Milton Keynes-based squad won all but one race in 2023 and started this year’s campaign off in similarly impressive fettle, but have faltered over the past six rounds, winning just twice as their RB20 has dropped behind McLaren’s MCL36 in terms of outright speed.
Triple world champion Max Verstappen has been causing collisions on circuit and chaos on team radio, the team seems to be struggling with its development path, and their advantage in both title races is receding.
Now, they also have to make one of their most important decisions since they joined F1 two decades ago.
F1 HEADLINES: Ricciardo REPLACEMENT preference revealed as Red Bull star dealt contract change
Verstappen’s rambunctious ripostes to race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase’s instructions and pleas may have dominated chatter around Red Bull at last weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, but the bigger problem they face sits in the other side of the garage.
New lows for Perez
Sergio Perez endured yet another woeful weekend in Budapest, crashing out of the first part of qualifying in damp conditions on Saturday before recovering to seventh in the race on Sunday. Seventh was no doubt a pretty solid recovery drive, but if he is constantly having to recover every Sunday, he isn’t really making much progress.
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The Mexican has taken a paltry 16 points from the last six race weekends, during which time he has never qualified high enough to benefit Verstappen strategically as a rear gunner, and is causing hugely significant financial cost to Red Bull by inexplicably crashing out of sessions so frequently.
Let’s put it bluntly: Perez, who has dropped to a lowly seventh in the drivers’ standings despite piloting what has been the fastest or second fastest car at every circuit so far this season, is now actively hindering the team’s chances of retaining the constructors’ championship, Verstappen’s prospects of winning a fourth successive title, and the extent to which the car can be developed throughout the rest of the season.
On Friday in Budapest team principal Christian Horner revealed he had invited Perez to his home in order to talk through the problems which have led to such woeful form, but by Saturday a forlorn Perez was trotting out the same vague intentions to improve that have been heard so often since the start of the season.
“It hurts,” a visibly despondent Perez sighed. “It hurts to let your whole team down. But I’m determined more than ever to get back to where we belong. I just have to shut the external noise down and focus on the job. Our time will come, unfortunately it’s just one after the other. I’m conscious of that. We need to change quickly.”
READ MORE: Hamilton delivers powerful statement after Schumacher announcement
But the use of the plural we/our doesn’t really wash given the poor results are so clearly down to Perez’s errors and lack of self-belief. And now, after months of publicly backing him, it appears the team has come to the same conclusion.
“I think I have shown that I am very patient,” Horner told Viaplay after Perez’s latest crash. “But this was really the last thing he and the team needed. Any discussions we have with him will, of course, take place internally and not in front of the media. But of course, we can’t run on one leg.”
Familiar Ricciardo Red Bull steps
Indeed, Red Bull ran Kiwi youngster Liam Lawson in the RB20 last week in what was billed as a filming day but was no doubt an assessment of his ability behind the wheel, in a similar fashion to the test Daniel Ricciardo conducted last season before being given Nyck de Vries’ seat at AlphaTauri.
Red Bull are clearly in the process of making a decision about who drives their second car for the rest of the season following the summer break, which comes after next week’s race in Belgium.
They have four options: stick with Perez, return to Ricciardo, promote Yuki Tsunoda, or throw in Lawson.
It seems increasingly clear, and more and more justified, that Perez will be gone by the time the season recommences at Zandvoort at the end of August.
Maintaining the status quo and hoping that Perez somehow improves of his own accord despite all the evidence that is incapable of doing so would be uncharacteristically indecisive from Red Bull.
READ MORE: McLaren star panicked with ALARMING setback at Hungarian Grand Prix
What they do instead, though, will define far more than the short-term future. Not only will whoever pilots the second car play a significant part in both title fights, they will make clear how Red Bull views the future of both its F1 teams and play a key role in defining Verstappen’s future.
One of the reasons Perez was offered an extension to his Red Bull deal only a couple of months ago is that Verstappen enjoys working him, having benefitted from his support in his title fight with Lewis Hamilton in 2021.
Now that Verstappen’s relationship with the team is on much rockier ground than in previous years – thanks both to their drop off in performance and the controversy surrounding Horner which threatened to erupt into war earlier this year – giving him a team-mate of whom he does not approve could risk driving a further wedge between both parties.
READ MORE: Wolff makes WILD champion comparison in Verstappen swoop attempt
And if for example Ricciardo was shifted into Perez’s seat over Tsunoda, the Japanese having far outperformed the Aussie so far this season, then that would beg the question what on Earth the ongoing purpose of the junior RB team is, given it has up until this point functioned as a proving ground for young drivers to demonstrate they are worthy of a shot at the big time.
If on the other hand Red Bull opt for Lawson, are they really committed to him for the long-term, or making clear that they are merely hoping to tread water between now and the end of the campaign before sourcing a new, experienced second driver from outside their current stable for 2025 and beyond?
Perez’s woeful output is a millstone around the necks of Red Bull right now. However Horner and Helmut Marko decide to remedy the situation will give a very clear indication of the brand’s long-term future in F1, and could have a big influence on Verstappen’s decision-making too.
READ MORE: How McLaren mess between Norris and Piastri could change their F1 future>
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F1 Race Calendar 2024
- GP BAHRAIN29 Feb - 2 MarMax VerstappenGP SAUDI ARABIA7 - 9 MarMax VerstappenGP AUSTRALIA22 - 24 MarCarlos SainzGP JAPAN5 - 7 AprMax VerstappenGP CHINA19 - 21 AprMax VerstappenGP USA3 - 5 MayLando NorrisGP ITALY17 - 19 MayMax VerstappenGP MONACO24 - 26 MayCharles LeclercGP CANADA7 - 9 JunMax VerstappenGP SPAIN21 - 23 JunMax VerstappenGP AUSTRIA28 - 30 JunGeorge RussellGP GREAT BRITAIN5 - 7 JulLewis HamiltonGP HUNGARY19 - 21 JulOscar PiastriGP BELGIUM26 - 28 JulGP NETHERLANDS23 - 25 AugGP ITALY30 Aug - 1 SepGP AZERBAIJAN13 - 15 SepGP SINGAPORE20 - 22 Sep
Complete kalender 2024
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F1 Standings
- Driver
- Constructors
Driver Standings 2024
- 01 Max VERSTAPPENRed Bull Racing26502 Lando NORRISMcLaren18903 Charles LECLERCFerrari16204 Carlos SAINZFerrari15405 Oscar PIASTRIMcLaren149
Full drivers
Constructor Standings 2024
- 01 Red Bull Racing Great Britain38902 McLaren Great Britain33803 Ferrari Italy32204 Mercedes Great Britain24105 Aston Martin Great Britain69
Full constructors
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Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Teams
- Aston Martin
- BWT Alpine
- Ferrari
- Haas F1 Team
- McLaren
- Mercedes
- Red Bull Racing
- Stake F1 Team
- Visa Cash App RB
- Williams
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- AWS Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
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