It really is the silly season if in March the F1 media are discussing driver changes for next year. Yet a number of events have collided to produce the surprise situation where 13 of the current drivers are out of contract at the end of this year.

Add to that what would recently have been considered a ‘top seat’ is available at Mercedes following Lewis Hamilton’s decision to move to Maranello for 2025. And to top it all we then have Max Verstappen suggesting he could leave the Red Bull team if Dr. Helmut Marko was removed against his will.

 

 

 

Warnings for Tsunoda and Ricciardo

This was met with a strong rebuff from Christian Horner who told his star driver Red Bull F1 will not hold anyone to a contract against their will and that “no one is bigger than the team.”

Of course the news of Max leaving Red Bull would eclipse even the Lewis Hamilton decision to drive in red next season and leave the Mercedes family where he has spent his entire F1 career. If the Dutch driver were to go, it would mean all four Red Bull and V-CARB drivers cold be up for a change in 2025.

Despite the various sagas dominating F1 headlines, there is a growing focus and scrutiny coming upon Daniel Ricciardo who was expected to outperform his Japanese team mate and become the natural successor to Sergio Pérez. Yet with each passing race the Australian is looking as though he is still struggling to find the form that saw him win eight Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver grim reaper Dr. Helmut Marko warned Daniel in Australia that his performances needed to improve. “There is a lot at stake this season for both Yuki and Daniel. Yuki’s qualifying was very good and Ricciardo will have to come up with something soon,” Marko wrote in his column for Speedweek before cars hit there track in Melbourne.

Marko says Max wouldn’t have won anyway

 

 

 

Daniel given ‘two races’ to turn it around

Then as the weekend progressed, New Zealand media reported that Ricciardo had been given a two race ultimatum by Marko, to either improve or ship out. However, the 81 year old Austrian believes reports have become confused over the temporarily sidelining of Ricciardo at Suzuka so that Japanese junior Ayumu Iwasa can drive in the Australian’s RB car in Friday practice for the Japanese GP.

The F1 teams are mandated to offer two FP1 practice sessions a year to a ‘young driver’ and each of their permanent drivers must sit out for at least one session a season.

Iwasa was fourth in the 2023 F2 season and like Liam Lawson before him is now driving this year in the Japanese Super Formula series, where the cars are even closer to those seen in F1. Its only natural for Red Bull to blood one of their junior drivers at his home race next time out in Japan.

Marko believes the ’dropping’ of Ricciardo for FP1 in Japan has created a narrative which is over exaggerated. That said Marko makes it clear Daniel is not doing enough to grab a possible vacant seat in a Red Bull car, but refutes that he has two races left to save his career.

Piastri reacts to Mclaren team orders costing him a podium

 

 

 

Red Bull driver line up decision now in the summer

“The decision on the [driver] lineup for next year has been postponed until the summer. But Tsunoda must improve even more if he can be considered,” says Marko.

“Every driver sees the other’s data,” Marko said, “so there are no secrets. They have the same car. Everything is the same. Daniel has proved in the past that he is a fast driver, so it is something mental. A mental problem.”

Ricciardo denied this factly in Australia stating: “My head is not full of nonsense or anything like that.”

Yet despite the Red Bull driver lineup announcement being postponed, a number of Red Bull insiders believe Sergio Pérez has done enough to ensure in fact he will get another  drive at Red Bull beyond this season. Mexican sponsors are believed to have been involved in the discussion.

Spanish media slam Hamilton and Ferrari bosses

 

 

 

Lawson ready to step up

Whatever, Checo’s fate, one thing is certain and that is Liam Lawson will have one of the Red Bull drives next year, which has already been confirmed by Marko. Former F1 driver, Christijan Albers, now questions the rationale behind the future driver pairings at Red Bull and there V-CARB team.

“I don’t understand what the fear is about this choice. I just don’t understand it,” he told De Telegraaf.

“Let’s be honest – Lawson beat Tsunoda in those few races last year. And Tsunoda has consistently been stronger than Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo,” says Albers who believes Ricciardo has lost the desire to race at the very top level.

“What irritates me a little bit is that he keeps laughing and doing activities other than driving,” said the Dutchman. “Just focus on the racing. Only then can you start being funny again.

Horner plots Alonso snub for Verstappen

 

 

 

Albers criticises Red Bull decision

“As a driver you want to go into hiding until you have beaten the others, then you can start showing yourself again. With him it’s the other way around. All those activities are just painful.”

Albers argues Ricciardo is just holding up a seat for the proven young talent that is Lawson, who should be now racing in Formula One.

“I just don’t think it’s fair,” Albers insists. “Lawson just needs to be given a chance, and he doesn’t get one. But the whole purpose of that team is to train and promote young talent.”

Perez breaks silence on Verstappen “exit clause”

 

 

 

V-CARB no longer for young drivers only

The purpose of the junior Red Bull team known as Toro Rosso, AlphaTauri and now V-CARB has been to blood young drivers into Formula One. Yet Dr. Helmut Marko admitted last year there would be a change of emphasis going forward which was epitomised with the recruitment of senior driver Daniel Ricciardo to the Red Bull junior team.

V-CARB are also collaborating more with Red Bull this season and buying components allowed rather than designing themselves. Further, a number of roles have been moved from Faenza in Italy to Banbury, England while a future new HQ is planned outside the gates of Milton Keynes.

It could be the team is being readied for sale given suggestions that the next Concorde Agreement may outlaw any organisation owning two F1 teams by 2030, according to senior F1 writer Joe Saward.

Horner admits RB20 huge weakness compared to Ferrari

 

 

 

Ferrari boss slams F1 journalist

Formula One has been hit with a number of scandals as the calendar year turned to 2024. Red Bull have an on going investigation into both their team principal’s alleged “controlling” behaviour and for the source of the anonymous email sent to 149 senior paddock individuals claiming to contain confidential documents from the enquiry.

The employee accusing Horner has been suspended on full pay but no reason has been given by the team for this course of action. This of course has led to a hysterical response in certain quarters claiming that transparency is ultimately what is most important and that Red Bull are protecting a middle aged white man with power against a poor vulnerable female – who was in fact rewarded for her ‘bravery’ by having her claim dismissed and finding herself suspended…. READ MORE