2024 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[AR3-GP]

Max requested 4 more clicks on the FW for the 2nd stint. It was an error setup wise. Strange this was not detected on the lap to the grid. In the first laps you could already see the car would not turn in the slower sections.

I think that it wasn't detected because the reconnaissance laps were completed on intermediate tires since the track was still damp. The balance can change a lot because of the rain vs dry and differences compound, in tire pressure, tire diameter, and the effect on ground clearance (inters vs slicks).

[Dee]

Max requested 4 more clicks on the FW for the 2nd stint. It was an error setup wise. Strange this was not detected on the lap to the grid. In the first laps you could already see the car would not turn in the slower sections.

I think that it wasn't detected because the reconnaissance laps were completed on intermediate tires since the track was still damp. The balance can change a lot because of the rain vs dry and differences compound, in tire pressure, tire diameter, and the effect on ground clearance (inters vs slicks).

Good shout, if the car was setup correctly, do you think Max would have gained in the first stint? He was the fastest car towards the end of the intermediate stage and was very quick on the hards.

[Sieper]

I'm looking forward to Hungary, hopefully the upgrades will work well.
Any solid news on if Verstappen will take an engine penalty in Spa. I need to start planning for my fantasy team to make the right changes in Hungary and then in Spa to have Max and Redbull if Max is taking the engine penalty there. Please help guys. Thank you.

I think it is a guarantee. They wanted to take the engine in Canada. It blew up straight away. Checo has his new engine already. Max will need to get it. Spa seems one of the less worse places (---).

[AR3-GP]

Why did Perez need a 5th engine? "Just in case"? Otherwise it would suggest that Ver needs a 6th engine.

[Sieper]

They could take it for free almost. Max will need this one (which is more or less his normal 4th) and one more I think.

[ME4ME]

The Race now speculating that Perez might be replaced mid-season by either Ricciardo or Lawson.

It's a bunch of speculation but so strange none the less.
- Red Bull obviously have doubts about Tsunodas mental strenght even though he is performing well.
- Ricciardo has the desired attitude but is low on confidence.
- Lawson is a rookie. Why would it go any better for him than it did for Albon, Gasly or Kvyat at Red Bull?
- Sainz is the ideal option for 2025 but they don't want the trouble?

Somehow they managed this terribly. The whole saga with the second seat since Ricciardo left. Sick of that seat going to waste.

[AR3-GP]

They should put either Tsunoda or Lawson in the car. It is logical.

[Sergej]

Why did Perez need a 5th engine? "Just in case"? Otherwise it would suggest that Ver needs a 6th engine.

Quite obvious Max will need a 5th engine (likely taken in Spa) and one more later in the season.

[AR3-GP]

Why did Perez need a 5th engine? "Just in case"? Otherwise it would suggest that Ver needs a 6th engine.

Quite obvious Max will need a 5th engine (likely taken in Spa) and one more later in the season.

How can a season go from expecting to use 4 engines, to using 6 when only 1 engine was lost? That would suggest they needed 5 engines for the season. RBPT and Mercedes originally rejected increasing the allocation from 3 to 4 for this year.

[Paa]

The Race now speculating that Perez might be replaced mid-season by either Ricciardo or Lawson.

It's a bunch of speculation but so strange none the less.
- Red Bull obviously have doubts about Tsunodas mental strenght even though he is performing well.
- Ricciardo has the desired attitude but is low on confidence.
- Lawson is a rookie. Why would it go any better for him than it did for Albon, Gasly or Kvyat at Red Bull?
- Sainz is the ideal option for 2025 but they don't want the trouble?

Somehow they managed this terribly. The whole saga with the second seat since Ricciardo left. Sick of that seat going to waste.

The whole Ricciardo reloaded stuff was just a waste of time. If it was not clear after McLaren that he was done, it should have been clear after the first few races at AlphaTauri.

They should have had Lawson in the car since last year so now they would have data if he can get next to Max or not (+experience for Lawson).

Now it's clear that neither Ric nor Tsunoda is ideal for the big team and Lawson is still an unknown so there are only bad options available.

[KimiRai]

Is this still possible?

Spanish sources say Sainz could be waiting not to sign anything in a hurry because Red Bull is becoming a bit fed up with Perez.

Maybe biased sources, but the fact Sainz has contradicted most rumours who said he would announce by the Spanish GP suggests a new development

[djones]

Max is the teams main interest (rightly so) and what Max wants, Max gets.

He wants a mediocre team mate that won’t take points, poles or wins from him. So my vote is they will use Daniel. They don’t want an unknown that might be fast such as Lawson.

[Sieper]

Max is the teams main interest (rightly so) and what Max wants, Max gets.

He wants a mediocre team mate that won’t take points, poles or wins from him. So my vote is they will use Daniel. They don’t want an unknown that might be fast such as Lawson.

Mmh, did you get a vote.

[chrisc90]

Thing is with Lawson, you could almost say that this is how it’s going to be if you offer a seat.

He hasn’t got a f1 seat at the minute so if redbull said we can give you a f1 seat, but this is the terms…. Would Lawson take it? Would be beneficial for him

[venkyhere]

The whole Ricciardo reloaded stuff was just a waste of time. If it was not clear after McLaren that he was done, it should have been clear after the first few races at AlphaTauri.

Agree with you completely, it was all based on some filming day run post Silverstone-2023 and Horner decided, that was that. Based on a sample size of 1.

They should have had Lawson in the car since last year so now they would have data if he can get next to Max or not (+experience for Lawson).

Now it's clear that neither Ric nor Tsunoda is ideal for the big team and Lawson is still an unknown so there are only bad options available.

Perez is a lost cause anyway. I was the guy who defended him the most when he got the new contract, saying
(i) he deserves one last chance, as 'experience' will kick in at some point
(ii) not-rocking-the-boat is pretty important, considering 2025 is the last year of current regs anyway
(iii) Redbull care more about WDC than WCC

But the way his control over the car has simply 'sunk' is mind-boggling. Being 0.8 to 1s slower than teammate in quali - that difference doesn't exist even in Williams with Sargeant, I dont remember it was this bad when Russel-Latifi were a pair. There is no excuse for Perez. No, there isn't. The last straw has been chewed up.

However, all is not lost.
Lawson is the ideal candidate to be given 1/2 a season to prove. Even if he scores a few scattered points here and there, it wouldn't be any different to what can be expected from Perez anyway.
Moreover, Lawson looked pretty racy and clever in his tussles with Tsunoda for a brief while last season. It's the perfect opportunity to try him. May be he turns out to be a hidden gem, and if so, perfect for the #2 driver - young, will not demand equal treatment, home-grown driver in the starting phase of career so will be in 'gratitude mode' for atleast the next 2 years.