Barring a miracle, Red Bull Racing will not be claiming their seventh Formula One constructors’ title this year. The reason is simple, their driver pairing is the worst amongst the leading four contenders.

Sergio Perez sits eight in the drivers’ table a whopping 251 points behind his team mate who was crowned world champion last time out in Las Vegas. Red Bull handed Checo a shiny new contract in June which ‘guaranteed’ him a continuation into 2025 with an option for the following year.

Checo started the season well and come the Miami Grand Prix in May he sat second behind his team mate in the title race. A fortuitous safety car in the race around the Dolphins stadium saw Lando Norris take his maiden victory yet Sergio remained ahead of the British driver just 33 points behind his team mate.

 

 

 

Red Bull deal done with Williams

As TJ13 has reported today, veteran F1 writer Adam Cooper has revealed a deal has been agreed in principle between Williams and Red Bull Racing for Franco Colapinto to join the pool of drivers based at Milton Keynes.

Never the one to be outside the limelight, Jos Verstappen now has his two penneth on the matter not long before the cars take to the Losail circuit in Qatar. Perez has been coming under significant pressure with regards to his future having failed to make the podium since this year’s Chinese Grand Prix back in April. 

Meanwhile each of the other drivers in the top four teams are multiple GP winners this season while Checo’s tally remains at rather poor zero. His dramatic slump in form means Red Bill need big points this weekend if they are to have the slightest hope of retaining their team title.

However, McLaren are expected to go well in the heat of the middle east and on a fast flowing circuit which suits this years MCL38.

Mario Andretti refutes speculation surrounding his son

 

 

 

Jos backed Lawson alongside Max

Jos Verstappen has previously backed Liam Lawson to step up alongside his son. “I think Lawson is doing very well,” Jos recently told Viaplay. “It seems logical to me that he is ready to step up. Let him finish this season and build confidence and then the team has to decide what they do for next year.

“I certainly don’t oppose that [Lawson replacing Perez]. It’s better if there is someone who is competitive and pushes Max forward a bit. That always helps, but we’ll see.”

Now the ex-F1 driver appears to be doing a U-Turn as he suggests redemption for Sergio could be at hand. According to Jos, Reed Bull need to produce a more “neutral” car which suits both drivers more equally and Perez’s potential will be unlocked.

Now asked by Joe radio about Perez’s future, Jos replied: “That is not down to us, of course. That’s really up to the team’s management.

FIA employee cull continues

 

 

 

Red Bull need to build a more “neutral” car says Jos

“But I’m also sure if Red Bull builds a car that is neutral and that everyone can get on with, then I think Checo will be there at the front again. But we have little to do with that really.”

Over the years Red Bull have become renown for their innovative car designs. During there Sebastian Vettel era the team pursued “off throttle exhaust blowing” which injected fuel into the exhaust as the driver released the throttle.

This created what Mark Webber described as a “counter intuitive driving style” where the drivers were not braking in the regular fashion. Vettel mastered the art of this style of driving as evidenced in his four consecutive F1 driver titles during the era this technology was allowed in the regulations.

In an attempt to explain the gold between Max and Sergio, similar accusations have been made in recent years over the design of the Red Bull F1 car. The repeated suggestion is that the Red Bull F1 cars are designed to suit Max Verstappen. 

Norris laughs off Verstappen claim

 

 

 

Verstappen denies cars built for him

Yet Max has vehemently denied this to be the case. The reason this topic repeatedly raises its head is because of the gulf between Verstappen and his team mates like Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and now Sergio Perez. Icons razor principles would reasonably suggest there is a simple explanation for this fact and it is just that Max is one of F1’s legendary drivers and whilst his team mates are worthy of their place in F1, they become eclipsed by the brilliance of the Dutch world champion.

Max himself went to lengths to explain the Red bull car design in Bahrain, when the topic once again reared its head. It was put to Max that Red Bull have worked closely with him over the years to produce setups which closely align to his preferred driving style, allowing him to extract the full potential of the car.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily just to my driving style,” Verstappen told assembled media. “I think as a driver, you need to adapt to what you get, and that’s also what I did when I joined Red Bull because the car was always like that, to be honest.”

This revelation from Max is something he hadn’t spoken about previously, but clearly when he was promoted to Red Bull it necessitated a change in his previous drinking style.

Update on Michael Schumacher

 

 

 

Villeneuve says Newey cars require “exceptional” drivers

“I’ve never experienced a fast car which has understeer in my life, in any category, so for me, it’s nothing,” continued the world champion. “Weird when I’m getting older, it feels like the team is really pushing around my driving style, [but] I feel like if people ask me ‘what is your driving style?’, I cannot tell you because I always adapt to what I get, in the best way possible.

“Sometimes it’s a bit harder than others, but I think that’s the key, you need to adapt every year, every track is different, and that’s what you try to do best every time.”

When discussing the Perez conundrum this autumn, the 1997 F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve explained to Spanish publication Marca, ”From my experience, Newey has always built cars that need to be driven very precisely. His cars have always had a narrow operating window, but if you found that operating window, the cars were super fast. It is not a car for everyone. He makes cars for exceptional drivers and the exceptional drivers will make a big difference in these cars; the ordinary driver will suffer,” Villeneuve concluded.

Then again Jacques won his title in a Newey designed FW19, so he would say that, wouldn’t he? Jos Verstappen’s U-Turn over Perez remaining alongside Max is hardly surprising given the disruptive nature he brings to the Red Bull team.

Horner reveals Verstappen secret

 

 

 

Red Bull deal to replace Perez now done

Barring a miracle, Red Bull Racing will not be claiming their seventh Formula One constructors’ title this year. The reason is simple, their driver pairing is the worst amongst the leading four contenders.

Sergio Perez sits eight in the drivers’ table a whopping 251 points behind his team mate who was crowned world champion last time out in Las Vegas. Red Bull handed Checo a shiny new contract in June which ‘guaranteed’ him a continuation into 2025 with an option for the following year.

Checo started the season well and come the Miami Grand Prix in May he sat second behind his team mate in the title race. A fortuitous safety car in the race around the Dolphins stadium saw Lando Norris take his maiden victory yet Sergio remained ahead of the British driver just 33 points behind his team mate… READ MORE