[ 2020 ] Aston Martin RedBull Racing F1 Team - Honda

[Big Tea]

Great news for F1 as a whole, not a Perez fan but he has proved he deserves to be there where plenty of others on the Grid now and in the past haven’t. He will certainly be in the mix and push Max (not that he needs any pushing). Will be interesting to see if can really challenge him

What this decision really shows to me however is the fact that Marko has failed in his job again with yet another driver tossed to the side, even when he has 4 seats to fill

The loss of Danny & Carlos really hurt them, they need to take better care of their talent

I wonder how long it will take for Perez to get cheesed off of being treated as a number 2 like Webber and co. were

I suspect he is only there for 1 season anyway. He has previously said in interviews he has 'options' for 2020 so may not accept the sort of contract they offer if he has options. Also, I expect tsunoda to be rushed in as soon as possible or next year at the latest.

But, who knows, maybe they will all feel they have a good match and change plan

[the EDGE]

Great news for F1 as a whole, not a Perez fan but he has proved he deserves to be there where plenty of others on the Grid now and in the past haven’t. He will certainly be in the mix and push Max (not that he needs any pushing). Will be interesting to see if can really challenge him

What this decision really shows to me however is the fact that Marko has failed in his job again with yet another driver tossed to the side, even when he has 4 seats to fill

The loss of Danny & Carlos really hurt them, they need to take better care of their talent

I wonder how long it will take for Perez to get cheesed off of being treated as a number 2 like Webber and co. were

I suspect he is only there for 1 season anyway. He has previously said in interviews he has 'options' for 2020 so may not accept the sort of contract they offer if he has options. Also, I expect tsunoda to be rushed in as soon as possible or next year at the latest.

But, who knows, maybe they will all feel they have a good match and change plan

I agree he may not be there long, but I don’t think he has options.. at least none better than Redbull whatever the contract. I don’t ever see him walking away of his own accord

[TNTHead]

Interesting times ahead. A few months ago many thought it would be Hulkenberg, even Max hinted that that was his first choice. And now we'll have Perez. First and upmost priority would be to avoid that the relationship VER-PER is turning sour. For peace within the team I hope that they have secured in the contracts how Perez is treated.

Perez is at his best lately, but still a big unknown how he will perform in the RB16B. I remember that at this forum many (myself included) were quite impressed by Albon last year, beating KVY in the STR. Sorry for him to see him fail this season so badly. I suppose part of that failure is the difficult car the RB16 was/is. That RB resorted to Perez shows it is not an easy fix and their talent pool lacks F1 experience. So it's a logical choice, hopefully it will get the second seat more in the mix AND Perez can help give valuable feedback for developing the car.

But it still is not a certainty that Perez will perform much better than Albon. I hope so, because we will see more fighting at the front (if the current pecking order is maintained AND RB improves more than Merc).

I somehow see it as good news that they keep Albon. It is said that his feedback is of use for developing the car. I suspect that he is quite a good test and sim driver.

[godlameroso]

The RB16B will likely be an easier car to drive, as even Albon had pace to trouble the Mercs in Abu Dhabi, so if the car keeps improving, it likely won't be as big a handful to get the performance out of it.

[Manoah2u]

I suspect he is only there for 1 season anyway. He has previously said in interviews he has 'options' for 2022 so may not accept the sort of contract they offer if he has options. Also, I expect tsunoda to be rushed in as soon as possible or next year at the latest.

But, who knows, maybe they will all feel they have a good match and change plan

I personally very much believe that when Sergio was talking about an offer with a (good) team for 2022,
he was actually talking about RedBull from the beginning, which also makes a lot of sense if you look at it.

That would also explain how 'relaxed' he was about taking a year off for 2021.

It would suggest that it was pretty easy for RBR to sign him for 2022 onward, but would have to 'smooth' out some stuff for 2021 still, and because of that he wasnt yet announced.

Those things certainly have had to be

A) Tsunoda getting the SL
B) Albon's performance and contracts

Probably there was a contract clause where Albon was 'safe' in so it would make it a 'thing' to get 'rid' of him.

If Tsunoda wouldn't get his SL, then they would have no choice but to keep Albon and not 'break out' that contract, as they would simply 'ditch' him Gasly & Kvyat style into AT.

However, obviously, Tsunoda was a priority for RBR, so they went for that, and thus saw the AT seat as occupied by Tsunoda.

That means that they would have to make a decision: keep Albon, partially due to his contract, and on performance achievements, or get rid of him, and probably sponsorship money he brings, whilst also losing Aston Martin money for 2021, in favour of Perez for 2021, who was 'pre-contracted' to come aboard in 2022 anyway and wouldn't really mind waiting too much.

I think Perez' win really sealed the deal, and had Helmut, Mateschitz and Horner simply affirm : that's the guy we need, let's take our losses and get rid of the Thai. Get the Mexican a chance to 'grow' into the team for 2021 and go all out in 2022 with Sergio.

Meanwhile, I think that they also negotiated into a deal where Sergio brings Slim money, and takes less of that to his own salary (pay cut). Sergio probably got that offer right after the win by Helmut who said, keep your mouth shut to Alex, but you got the drive, we believe in you and don't want you to gather dust in 2021.
Sergio got them a drink to say thanks.

I don't think the 2022 deal is also a 1-year deal only, and probably a 2-year deal at least, so i think it's not a 1 year deal at all, but that Sergio is now aboard RedBull racing untill the end of the 2023 season.

It's a great deal though, Sergio is fast, wise, clean and a proven GP winner now, and i think a guy who can give Max a run for his money. It also makes it better for RBR to deal with Max. Let's face it, if you are the star driver and all the other drivers are crap then the team depends on you a lot and you can start being a bit more of a diva and demand stuff. If you suddenly find your teammate to 'rival' you then you start second-guessing.

Either way, Verstappen - Perez is a STRONG pairing, and is going to be interesting not only as teammates, but also against the other teams. Hell, I think Verstappen - Perez is a stronger pairing than Hamilton-Bottas.

[Rushu]

How is Perez starting?

[LM10]

The RB16B will likely be an easier car to drive, as even Albon had pace to trouble the Mercs in Abu Dhabi, so if the car keeps improving, it likely won't be as big a handful to get the performance out of it.

Absolutely agree, IF there were no changes to the floor and diffuser coming for 2021. This again could make the RBR start with a car full of issues before developing it to a fast one.
But I kind of have a feeling they might be confident this time because they've chosen an experienced driver which is quite RBR-unusual. Gives the impression of them thinking they have the tools to win the title on the car side.

[TimW]

The RB16B will likely be an easier car to drive, as even Albon had pace to trouble the Mercs in Abu Dhabi, so if the car keeps improving, it likely won't be as big a handful to get the performance out of it.

Absolutely agree, IF there were no changes to the floor and diffuser coming for 2021. This again could make the RBR start with a car full of issues before developing it to a fast one.
But I kind of have a feeling they might be confident this time because they've chosen an experienced driver which is quite RBR-unusual. Gives the impression of them thinking they have the tools to win the title on the car side.

Verstappen did not want to test the 2021 floor in Abu Dhabi, because "he wanted to have a good start of the weekend". That seems to indicate that the 2021 floor still has its issues. Anyway the regulations are more restrictive, so more difficult to avoid instability.

But if the instability originated from the front of the car, they may not return. Let's hope that for an interesting championship fight.

[diffuser]

The RB16B will likely be an easier car to drive, as even Albon had pace to trouble the Mercs in Abu Dhabi, so if the car keeps improving, it likely won't be as big a handful to get the performance out of it.

Absolutely agree, IF there were no changes to the floor and diffuser coming for 2021. This again could make the RBR start with a car full of issues before developing it to a fast one.
But I kind of have a feeling they might be confident this time because they've chosen an experienced driver which is quite RBR-unusual. Gives the impression of them thinking they have the tools to win the title on the car side.

Verstappen did not want to test the 2021 floor in Abu Dhabi, because "he wanted to have a good start of the weekend". That seems to indicate that the 2021 floor still has its issues. Anyway the regulations are more restrictive, so more difficult to avoid instability.

But if the instability originated from the front of the car, they may not return. Let's hope that for an interesting championship fight.

I presume that's why you test stuff.

[Wouter]

Max regarding Perez during FIA Prize Giving Ceremony: 'He brings experience'

In this extraordinary year, the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony was held virtually because of the limitations imposed on gatherings as a consequence of the covid-19 pandemic.

With Sergio Perez you have a new team mate next year, can we get your thoughts on that? “He had a great season and did a great job also with the car he had. He brings a bit more experience to the team. I am excited to work together with him. He is a nice guy and I am sure we’ll get along very well and with the two cars I hope that we can make it a bit more difficult for Mercedes next year.”

Can you speak Spanish? “No, but I think he will have to learn Dutch”, says Max cheekily. How competitive do you think Red Bull will be with Sergio on board next year? Max: “I don’t think it’s going to change anything regarding my performance, but it’s more that we have a second car that is capable of being up there the whole race and trying to put some pressure on Mercedes like Alex did in Abu Dhabi at the end. Most of the time it prevents Mercedes from going for an extra stop and I am then in more difficulties. When we were quite competitive, most of the time I was the only car trying to beat them and trying to do something different. But they can always do the right strategy with one of them so they will always cover me with one car. It was always a bit difficult to fight them and I just hope that Sergio will be the one to, first of all, push the whole team forward and also keep me on my toes. It is also nice to have a team mate pushing you and hopefully with a car that is a bit more competitive from the start and to make it more difficult for Mercedes to make strategic decisions.”

Have you been involved in the discussions about Perez? Max: “We spoke about it and I gave my honest opinion. It was pretty clear that throughout the whole year it was sometimes quite tricky for Alex. He is a great guy and honestly I am happy he is still a part of the team. At the end of the day it is Helmut, Christian and Dietrich who are taking the decisions.”

https://verstappen.com/en/article/4273/

[Mattchu]

I think a couple of posters have touched on the subject, I feel as well as Perez being a very competent racing driver money also played a big part in this decision [when doesn`t it in F1!].
Red Bull, for a while now, have not been throwing as much of their own money at F1 as they did when they first came into the sport. They have saved quite a lot by getting the engine/sponsorship deal with Honda and having Aston Martin as title/team sponsor.
They obviously lose the Aston money for next year, for 2022 they will either have to pay someone else for an engine or grab the IP from Honda and go it alone [more likely imo], either way its going to cost a pretty penny!
We also have a Grand prix in Mexico and only the Japanese GP in the far east so that may have also been a factor.

At the end of the day, I think its worked out best for all parties, Albon never looked good enough and Perez is a known quantity who shoud do well...only time will tell

[TwanV]

Absolutely agree, IF there were no changes to the floor and diffuser coming for 2021. This again could make the RBR start with a car full of issues before developing it to a fast one.
But I kind of have a feeling they might be confident this time because they've chosen an experienced driver which is quite RBR-unusual. Gives the impression of them thinking they have the tools to win the title on the car side.

Verstappen did not want to test the 2021 floor in Abu Dhabi, because "he wanted to have a good start of the weekend". That seems to indicate that the 2021 floor still has its issues. Anyway the regulations are more restrictive, so more difficult to avoid instability.

But if the instability originated from the front of the car, they may not return. Let's hope that for an interesting championship fight.

I presume that's why you test stuff.

I'm not getting my hopes up, floor restrictions will only really hurt the high rake cars as it will become more difficult to seal the underside of the car. Another free lunch for Mercedes if you ask me.

[godlameroso]

How do you know this? RB16 is 1.6cm shorter than the Mercedes. Not a lot of difference, with a few adjustments they can lower the rake. I don't think they need to though.

[Marti_EF3]

The only concern is that Merc spend more time for 2021 car than the others. And giving the base from 2020 is great, it will be hard

[etusch]