2024 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[rbirules]

That 80 mill article isn’t correct. If Perez leaves he is going to go with supposedly 30 mil in sponsors so it really is a 110 mil deal.

Good point. But the $40M loss from dropping to third in the WCC is a sunk cost at this point, you don't get that back regardless of who is Max's teammate next year.

So is it worth $20M plus $30M in lost sponsors to go with Lawson (and Hadjar at VCARB) over Checo? Is it worth $40M plus whatever difference in sponsors ($30M minus whatever Colapinto brings in) to get Colapinto?

If Liam can perform better, yes. You'll probably finish higher in the WCC which will make up for a lot of the money, his salary is negligible, and you can't underestimate the value for the team of having a proper wingman to Max who isn't starting from like 9th. The days of RB starting the season with the clear best car are probably over, so they really can't afford Checo anymore when he is performing like this.

That's the gamble you have to be pretty certain about. Checo's buyout and sponsors are worth about 2.5 spots in the WCC. Does Red Bull win the WCC with Lawson? Far from guaranteed. Do they drop out of the top 3 or 4 with Checo? Really depends on how strong Mercedes and AM are. But if the top teams are close all season a couple of dozen points could make the difference between two or three spots in the WCC.

Plus like you said, if teams are that close, having a teammate that can help Max by finishing in front of other top drivers on occasion could be quite valuable.

[basti313]

That 80 mill article isn’t correct. If Perez leaves he is going to go with supposedly 30 mil in sponsors so it really is a 110 mil deal.

Good point. But the $40M loss from dropping to third in the WCC is a sunk cost at this point, you don't get that back regardless of who is Max's teammate next year.

So is it worth $20M plus $30M in lost sponsors to go with Lawson (and Hadjar at VCARB) over Checo? Is it worth $40M plus whatever difference in sponsors ($30M minus whatever Colapinto brings in) to get Colapinto?

If Liam can perform better, yes. You'll probably finish higher in the WCC which will make up for a lot of the money, his salary is negligible, and you can't underestimate the value for the team of having a proper wingman to Max who isn't starting from like 9th. The days of RB starting the season with the clear best car are probably over, so they really can't afford Checo anymore when he is performing like this.

I think this all does not make much sense:

1. The comment on the performance clause contradicts everything known so far. All rumors this summer were aimed at this NEW performance clause and all statements from Marco matched this.
2. They do not have to "buy out" a driver. They can simply bench him and pay his salary. I strongly doubt this is 20Mio.
3. They do not lose sponsor money if they bench him after the contract is signed.

[lio007]

The reason: a performance-related exit clause was removed from the current contract by team boss Christian Horner. It still existed in the previous contract.

What the hell is Horner doing? After he opened his zipper, he really is trying to sink this team.

This really doesn't add up. First Marko is not allowed or can not comment for contractual reasons and then more or less in the next sentence it's written, that CH deleted the clause. It's poorly (or intentionally) written that you can not figure out whether it's just a guess or a fact.

[taperoo2k]

Good point. But the $40M loss from dropping to third in the WCC is a sunk cost at this point, you don't get that back regardless of who is Max's teammate next year.

So is it worth $20M plus $30M in lost sponsors to go with Lawson (and Hadjar at VCARB) over Checo? Is it worth $40M plus whatever difference in sponsors ($30M minus whatever Colapinto brings in) to get Colapinto?

If Liam can perform better, yes. You'll probably finish higher in the WCC which will make up for a lot of the money, his salary is negligible, and you can't underestimate the value for the team of having a proper wingman to Max who isn't starting from like 9th. The days of RB starting the season with the clear best car are probably over, so they really can't afford Checo anymore when he is performing like this.

I think this all does not make much sense:

1. The comment on the performance clause contradicts everything known so far. All rumors this summer were aimed at this NEW performance clause and all statements from Marco matched this.
2. They do not have to "buy out" a driver. They can simply bench him and pay his salary. I strongly doubt this is 20Mio.
3. They do not lose sponsor money if they bench him after the contract is signed.

I'm pretty sure drivers are contracted to Red Bull Technologies, rather than the F1 teams. Could be wrong though, if they want rid of Perez it'll happen. If they have a shortfall in sponsorship? They'll have to budget accordingly or Redbull GmbH might plug the gap on a temporary basis. Never forget for Redbull GmbH F1 is an advertising exercise.

I don't believe teams would prefer losing WCC to gain more dev time. They want to win after all.

But isn't it sometimes "short term pain for the long term gain"?

If you have a chance at the constructors championship? You go for it. You can never be 100% sure if you've aced a new set of regulations, especially as the teams have to deal with 2 sets of regulation changes - Aero and engines.

The big question for Redbull in 2026? Will RBPT produce a good to great engine or will it be a case of a hard learning curve alongside playing catch up with the other manufacturers.