According to Red Bull consultant Dr. Helmut Marko, the organisation has done a U-Turn on its future plans for the RB sister racing team. On his appointment as CEO of the then Alpha Tauri named team, Peter Bayer revealed “We had lots of discussions about the future of the team, and our shareholders said, ‘we want you to continue and educate young drivers, but we also want you to be successful’.

“I think, ultimately, you can’t have both,” he added. “You can’t have two young – inverted commas – drivers in the team.” Bayer went on to outline how the team would retain the services of Daniel Ricciardo for 2024, in a break from the tradition hai has seen the team over the years blood two young drivers at a time.

Bayer outlined how the experienced Ricciardo was helping the team  improve the setup of their car, something young inexperienced drivers are less capable of.

 

 

 

RBR junior team ‘new plan’

This year Daniel has been credited for helping Yuki Tsunoda tone down the red mist radio messages from the cockpit when circumstances during Grand Prix don’t go his way. Yet recently Dr. Helmut Marko appeared to indicate another change in the plans for RB, the sister Red Bull team, when ahead of the Austrian GP weekend he claimed to Kleine Zeitung, the team would return to operate with junior drivers.

“The shareholders have made it clear that this is a junior team and we have to operate accordingly,” he said before casting doubt on the role of Daniel Ricciardo within the Faenza based team.

“The goal was that with exceptional performances he [Ricciardo] would be in the frame for Red Bull Racing. That seat now belongs to Sergio Perez, so that plan is void,” added Marko.

Of course since then the 81 year old Austrian has been forced to admit that Perez’s poor performances will force a review of his new contract given there’s a clause the Mexican driver must be within 100 points of his team mate at the F1 summer break. In all likelihood should Sergio be dismissed mid-season it would be Ricciardo’s last chance to prove his worth over the ten races in the autumn schedule.

New Haas driver breaks silence on promotion

 

 

 

Marko says certain drivers should leave F1

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, Dr. Marko hits out at the ‘stagnation’ of the flow of new drivers into F1 in his weekly column for Speedweek.

“I can’t name any names, but there are drivers in the field who stagnate and are a bit better or worse depending on their mood,” wrote Marko. “They block the way for the young drivers. The teams are also afraid of juniors.

“Of course, they [young drivers] make mistakes, but I’d rather someone makes mistakes and is a hope for the future than there is no more improvement.”

For the first time in the history of F1, each team this year named the same driver lineup which completed the 2023 finale in Abu Dhabi, yet the Red Bull advisor is encouraged with the announcement last week that rookie Oliver Bearman will be driving for Haas F1 full time in 2025.

Steiner: Gene Haas could sell to Andretti

 

 

 

Bearman results not stella, but “right place right time”

He makes the point that other than for Carlos Sainz’s illness in Jeddah, the young Brit may never had been given an F1 opportunity like the one he had to substitute for the Spaniard in his Ferrari SF-24 for the Saudi GP.

“With Oliver Bearman, he was in the right place at the right time and will move up to Formula 1 next year,” Marko said. “His race in the Ferrari has shown him his F1 future, but if you were to look at his Formula 2 results, things would look a lot worse for him.

“But it’s good that young people are coming into Formula 1, I’m absolutely in favour of that.”

Of course Red Bull over the years have brought a number of young drivers to F1 under the watchful eye of Dr. Helmut Marko. Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen’s became world champions, while Pierre Gasly leads the Alpine team and Alex Albon signed a long term deal recently with Williams.

Seidl suffering Audi ‘corporate interference’

 

 

 

Red Bull junior programme stumbles

However, the programme has stumbled in recent years with Yuki Tsunoda being the last to join the Red Bull F1 ranks following his junior years in F2 and F3. Like Bearman, Tsunoda’s junior formula results were not exceptional, but a combination of Honda influence and flashes of brilliance secured the Japanese driver’s place at motorsport’s top table back in 2021.

Meanwhile experienced driver Sergio Perez was drafted in following Albon’s lack of success alongside Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo also replaced rookie F1 driver Nyck de Vries after just ten races last season.

Yet Marko believes the future is in his Red Bull academy stable and claims plans will be made for a number of drivers over the coming weeks. Isack Hadjar who heads the F2 standings together with F3 title hopeful Arvid Linblad are identified as potentially next in line for an F1 drive.

“During the summer break, we will also analyse and evaluate the performance of the Red Bull juniors in more detail,” writes Marko. “Hadjar took the lead in the F2 standings with his victory in the feature at Silverstone, we mustn’t forget that he was unlucky several times, there was the engine failure, then the reserve engine that didn’t work and then the two fuel supply failures and twice he was also spun out through no fault of his own.

“Otherwise he would have been miles ahead in the championship.”

Verstappen will “choose Mercedes”

 

 

 

Marko names RBR juniors with F1 future

Helmut continues observing that Lindblad in his rookie F3 season stepped into the series wining the first two races of the year. Following the recent relaxation of the FIA criteria a driver must be 18 to join F1, Marko believes Linblad could benefit from this ruling.

“He is only 16 years old and we are delighted that you can now drive Formula 1 again at 17. But we’re staying calm and continuing to produce good results with our juniors, who are now enjoying more priority again and are also allowed to drive Formula 1 cars.”

Marko also mentions Red Bull reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa, who is competing this year in Japan’s Super Formula where Liam Lawson cut his teeth last year. The Austrian waxes lyrical over a recent test performed by Hadjar concluding both, “Isack and Arvid have extremely good qualities, they are super fast and have Formula 1 quality.”

As the man in charge of the Red Bull junior driver programme, its hardly surprising he’s used his weekly column to pitch for his young proteges to be given a chance before decisions are made on Ricciardo and Perez.

Schumacher: “Formula 1 is in reach”

 

 

 

Lawson test “underwhelmed” Red Bull

Yet one driver is conspicuous by his absence in the commentary. Liam Lawson was to be the next big thing for Red Bull following his successful deputising for Ricciardo last year who was out with a broken hand for five Grand Prix.

Lawson completed a test for Red Bull at Silverstone last week and in the same car used by Verstappen and Perez in the preceding British Grand Prix. However as TJ13 reported since the event, Red Bull had been “underwhelmed” by the times set by the New Zealand driver, although nothing official has been issued by the team.

Christian Horner sought to play down the significance of Lawson’s test session claiming: “In all seriousness, the Liam test is an aero run that has been planned for a couple of months now,” before admitting it could have an impact on Sergio Perez because, “Checo is under pressure.”

Liam Lawson is surely Red Bull’s number one preference should either or both Ricciardo and Checo exit the RBR fold. Yet it is difficult to see how the FIA ruling will impact on F3’s Arvid Landbland, given ahead of him are both Hadjar and Iawasa should Red Bull return to running a pure junior driver team from next season onwards.

Liam Lawson test “underwhelmed ” Red Bull

Zak Brown predicts Re Bull infighting set to return

 

 

 

Mercedes insider ‘leaks’ Hungary announcemen

Despite the starting gun being fired early by Lewis Hamilton’s pre-season announcement he was leaving Mercedes for Ferrari, the race to fill the final vacant Formula One driver seats for 2025 has slowed to walking pace. Expectations were that ‘cork in the bottleneck,’ Carlos Sainz would announce his decision for next season at the Spanish Grand Prix, although a late bid by Alpine for the Spaniard’s services appeared to scupper that time line.

Valtteri Bottas appeared to confirm the Ferrari driver was the key to his own future deal being secured when he told assembled media at the Red Bull Ring, “I was hoping there would be decisions made earlier this week, but deadlines got pushed back again – that’s the situation, so nothing new from last week.

The Finn revealed: ”So yeah, kind of waiting for a piece to fall into place and then it should all happen pretty quick.” Bottas is expected to sign for his old team Williams should Carlos Sainz decide his future lies elsewhere… READ MORE