Last Updated on April 5 2025, 10:54 am

As the Formula 1 world turns its attention to Suzuka for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing has once again altered its driver line-up alongside reigning world champion Max Verstappen. In what feels like a recurring theme, the team has swiftly replaced rookie Liam Lawson after two disappointing races. In his place steps Yuki Tsunoda, a familiar face within the Red Bull orbit and a driver who made his Formula 1 debut in 2021 with what is now known as Racing Bulls.

This latest reshuffle continues Red Bull’s long struggle to find a stable and competitive teammate for Verstappen. The story is a familiar one: a young talent is quickly promoted, underperforms under the spotlight and is then either demoted or dropped. One of the most telling examples of this dynamic remains Pierre Gasly’s brief and tumultuous stint with the team in 2019.

Reflecting on this chapter, and the broader challenges Red Bull has faced in cultivating internal talent, one can’t help but ask: has the team’s relentless pace of driver development ultimately undermined some of its most promising prospects?

 

Gasly’s short-lived promotion

When Daniel Ricciardo left Red Bull at the end of 2018 for a new challenge with Renault, the team faced a difficult decision. They had a rising superstar in Max Verstappen, but needed a capable second driver to fill Ricciardo’s shoes.

Enter Pierre Gasly, who had just completed a respectable rookie season with Toro Rosso (now Racing Bulls), showing raw speed and a willingness to push the boundaries. Red Bull saw promise and, in typical fashion, moved quickly – perhaps too quickly.

Gasly’s half season alongside Verstappen in 2019 was plagued by inconsistency, underwhelming qualifying performances and a widening performance gap between the two cars. After just 12 races, the Frenchman was replaced by another fast-rising talent – Alex Albon – who would face his own struggles within months.

Doohan dumped

 

Gasly demoted from Red Bull Racing

Gasly was sent back to the junior team, where he managed to rebuild his confidence and even score an emotional maiden win at Monza in 2020. But the experience has left a lasting impression on both the driver and the organization.

Team principal Christian Horner has since admitted that Red Bull’s approach may have been too aggressive.

“In recent years we may have promoted certain drivers too early,” Horner told F1-Only.

“I think back to the Alex Albon era… Pierre Gasly was rushed when Daniel Ricciardo went to Renault. At Red Bull Racing in particular, we may have brought those juniors through too early.

Lawson sponsor makes shocking “suicidal” claim

 

The Max factor

One of the underlying challenges in partnering any driver with Max Verstappen is the sheer level of performance he brings to the table. Verstappen’s dominance has only increased in recent years, making the role of his teammate both crucial and perilous.

The team revolves around him – from car development to strategy decisions – meaning that any second driver must not only deliver results but also contend with operating in Verstappen’s shadow.

This has created an environment where young or inexperienced drivers often falter. It’s not simply about speed; it’s about withstanding immense pressure, internal and external scrutiny and adapting to a car tailored to a driver who might go down as one of the sport’s all-time greats. In Gasly’s case, the steep learning curve and lack of time to adapt proved costly. The same could be said of Albon and, most recently, Liam Lawson.

Lawson’s tenure, albeit short, highlights how little room there is for growth within Red Bull’s top team. Two poor performances and the door is closed – another talent chewed up and spat out by the relentless Red Bull machine. It’s a pattern that has become all too familiar, and one that Tsunoda enters with cautious optimism.

Bizarre Alpine request to the FIA

 

Yuki Tsunoda: Next in line

Tsunoda’s promotion to Red Bull for the Japanese Grand Prix comes with a mixture of sentiment and strategy. As a Japanese driver, his appearance at Suzuka has obvious marketing value, but his inclusion also speaks to the depth of Red Bull’s talent pool.

Since joining F1 in 2021, Tsunoda has steadily matured, showing flashes of speed and greater consistency in 2024. His promotion, however temporary, signals Red Bull’s continued faith in their development pipeline – but also raises questions about their selection process.

Unlike Gasly, Tsunoda has had several seasons to hone his craft within the sister team, a luxury not afforded to some of his predecessors. However, the step up to Red Bull remains a monumental challenge. If the team’s past is any indication, Tsunoda will need to impress immediately to stand any chance of a permanent seat. Otherwise, he may find himself following the same path as Gasly and Albon before him.

Already at the Japanese Grand Prix debut, the newest team mate to Verstappen has a wide gulf in performance to make up after qualifying outside of the top ten whilst the Dutch superstar stuck his RB21 on pole.

Lawson reveals details of how he was ditched

 

The double-edged sword of the junior programme

Red Bull’s driver development program is one of the most successful in Formula 1 history. It has produced multiple race winners and champions, including Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and, of course, Max Verstappen. There are currently seven drivers on the F1 grid who have been through the Red Bull system. But for all its success, the programme has also been criticised for its reckless pace.

“We have a young driver program and a talent pool that we’re looking to develop and invest in,” Horner explained. “That has allowed a lot of drivers… to come through the Red Bull programme at some point.”

But development is one thing; giving those drivers time to succeed at the highest level is another. Red Bull has often struggled to balance immediate results with long-term growth, especially when Verstappen’s dominance makes second-place finishes look like failures.

Gasly’s case is emblematic of this tension. A talented driver with proven capabilities, he simply wasn’t given enough time to acclimatise to a team and a car that demanded perfection. Instead, he became a footnote in Verstappen’s rise, a cautionary tale of what can happen when a team prioritises speed over stability.

Doohan dumped

 

The cost of constant rotation

The revolving door at Red Bull’s second seat has not just hindered driver development – it may also have held the team itself back. While Verstappen continues to collect wins and titles, the lack of a consistent and strong second driver has cost Red Bull valuable points in the Constructors’ Championship. Perez’s poor performances in his latter years are a clear reason why the constructors title were lost to McLaren in 2024.

In a tightly contested season, a dependable second car can make all the difference. Instead, Red Bull’s pursuit of immediate impact from rookies has often left them with a performance gap that rivals like Mercedes and Ferrari have exploited.

Pierre Gasly, now thriving in a different environment with Alpine, is proof that talent has never been the problem. The structure, timing and support mechanisms at Red Bull just weren’t right. And until the team recalibrates how it brings its young drivers into the spotlight, it risks repeating the same cycle – burning through talent without fully reaping the rewards.

Marko discusses Verstappen’s Red Bull exit

 

Looking forward: What Red Bull needs to change

Tsunoda’s appointment for the Japanese Grand Prix may be temporary, but it provides Red Bull with another opportunity to rethink its approach. If the team truly wants to extract the most from its driver academy, it must consider longer-term integration strategies. That means patience, better mentorship and perhaps even a more flexible role for the second driver-something that accommodates the reality of partnering Verstappen without expecting immediate parity.

Christian Horner’s frank reflections are a step in the right direction. Acknowledging past mistakes is important, but acting on them is even more so. Gasly’s story is one of talent stifled too soon, a story Red Bull would do well not to repeat. With Tsunoda now stepping into the spotlight and a new generation of young drivers waiting in the wings, the team faces a critical juncture: will it continue the cycle of hasty promotions and quick dismissals, or will it finally learn from its past and invest in a more sustainable future?

The next few races may not just define Tsunoda’s future – they could shape the philosophy of Red Bull’s driver strategy for years to come.

Pérez laughs at Red Bull

 

MORE F1 NEWS – RB21 design: the “opposite” of Newey’s recommendation

For the first time since Adrian Newey joined Red Bull the year of its inception, the Milton Keynes based Formula One team have designed a car without input from the guru engineer. Having announced he was leaving Red Bull and taking a sabbatical, within weeks the call of team ownership and a huge dollop of cash and Newey was signed to Aston Martin.

Adrian had not been the technical director of Red Bull Racing since resigning the position back in 2018, when Frenchman Pierre Wache was placed in charge of the day to day technical operations of the team. Newey worked part time and gave input into design issues, as and when, which led to Christian Horner to emphasise on more than one occasion during their dominant 2023 campaign, that Newey was not purely responsible for creating and developing thre Red Bull F1 cars.

“Adrian is a big part of the team and our achieved performance. But of course his role has evolved over the years and the technical team under him, led by Pierre Wache, is doing a great job. They are not dependent on Adrian,” said Red Bull boss Christian Horner to AMuS in 2023. “Adrian has the ability to come in, go out and work on other projects. I think that’s part of the evolution of any team.”… READ MORE ON THIS STORY