2024 Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team

[K1Plus]

This is a damn shame.

Max's 2025 teammate is likely to be a non-European driver, perhaps due to RB energy drinks branding strategy

Max's 2025 teammate is Sergio Perez.

I don't know if this is too blunt to say - but the team does not give a damn about WCC and a good 2nd driver.
Max is the priority and that's it.
As long as he wins championships drivers championships and they have profits they don't care.

[organic]

Max's 2025 teammate is likely to be a non-European driver, perhaps due to RB energy drinks branding strategy

Max's 2025 teammate is Sergio Perez.

I don't know if this is too blunt to say - but the team does not give a damn about WCC and a good 2nd driver.
Max is the priority and that's it.
As long as he wins championships drivers championships and they have profits they don't care.

For me it seems pretty obvious that due to ATR sliding scale they're deliberately trying to do poorly for a 2026 advantage

[Rikhart]

Max's 2025 teammate is Sergio Perez.

I don't know if this is too blunt to say - but the team does not give a damn about WCC and a good 2nd driver.
Max is the priority and that's it.
As long as he wins championships drivers championships and they have profits they don't care.

For me it seems pretty obvious that due to ATR sliding scale they're deliberately trying to do poorly for a 2026 advantage

Why don't they field only one car? Genuine question, in view of the tremendous finantial cost from Perez crashing, it would be a net benefit. Worse for setup purposes and data gathering, of course.
Just thought of another possibility, if doing poorly in standings is what they want: Hire a driver who is extremely safe, reliable, and slow. In the event he will get points, order him to make another pit stop to end outside the points.

[Juzh]

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

[lio007]

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"?

[organic]

I don't know if this is too blunt to say - but the team does not give a damn about WCC and a good 2nd driver.
Max is the priority and that's it.
As long as he wins championships drivers championships and they have profits they don't care.

For me it seems pretty obvious that due to ATR sliding scale they're deliberately trying to do poorly for a 2026 advantage

Why don't they field only one car? Genuine question, in view of the tremendous finantial cost from Perez crashing, it would be a net benefit. Worse for setup purposes and data gathering, of course.
Just thought of another possibility, if doing poorly in standings is what they want: Hire a driver who is extremely safe, reliable, and slow. In the event he will get points, order him to make another pit stop to end outside the points.

That would be an embarrassment for the sport I think. this way there remains plausible deniability

[Juzh]

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"?

I still think prestige of winning outweighs heavier ATR restrictions. I think even coming second is preferable to third. In the end f1 teams are competitive animals and winning or achieving best results possible is most important. I dont buy the conspiracy theories to be honest.

[SharkY]

I don't know if this is too blunt to say - but the team does not give a damn about WCC and a good 2nd driver.
Max is the priority and that's it.
As long as he wins championships drivers championships and they have profits they don't care.

There is a slight issue with focusing only on Max. The only reason, why he has a comfortable lead in the WDC 2024 is because RBR was mighty in the first 1/3 of the season while the others took some time to catch up (and MCL has thrown away points like crazy).
Without Newey it'll be hard to find a magical solution to leap frog the competition, so it's not unreasonable to assume that the pecking order might stay similar to 2024. In that situation it might actually hurt Max a lot, that he doesn't have a strong teammate, who would steal points from the other title contenders, while the other teams have that luxury.

[basti313]

I think you are jumping the gun.
I always said, that it is highly unlikely that they exchange Perez early before a new season. He brings sponsors and RedBull is signing now these sponsors. Perez is also selling some merch, obviously he has some contract to sell on his account (with certainly good royalties for RedBull).
I do not expect them to split before Abu in any case. Maybe they even switch around the pre season testing when all sponsors are signed.
But the big issue now is getting a replacement. There is none...

[Wouter]

Let's hope this isn't true! Translated by DeepL:

Perez crisis could cost Red Bull 80 million dollars

Sergio Perez is the weak point in the Red Bull team. An expensive one at that...
Ralf Bach | 13 November 2024 , 08:55 am

Sergio Perez is the weak point in the Red Bull team. An expensive one at that...

The decision has been made at Red Bull: Wobbly candidate Sergio Perez (34) has pulled his neck out of the noose once again. The controversial Mexican will remain team-mate to high-flyer Max Verstappen (27) until the end of the season. Only then will a decision be made about Perez's future.


Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko confirms to F1-Insider.com: ‘Nothing will happen until the last race in Abu Dhabi. Perez wants to keep fighting and get back on track for the last three races of the season. After Abu Dhabi, the situation will be analysed again.’

The only thing Marko is not allowed to say for contractual reasons. The Mexican insists on his contract, which runs until the end of 2025. Red Bull has no legal basis to release him. 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. The Austrians can only buy their way out with money. According to whispers behind the scenes, Perez allegedly wants 20 million dollars.


Red Bull is now in a dilemma. Even though they want to get rid of Perez, the board does not seem to be prepared to spend so much money. The crux of the matter: Perez's performances have ensured that Red Bull is now only third in the constructors' championship. The team won this title last year. The difference in prize money between first and third place is around 40 million dollars. It would therefore cost Red Bull a total of 60 million dollars if they released Perez after the season.

What's more, team boss Horner's favourite replacement for Perez, Franco Colapinto (20), is under contract with Williams as a junior. A loan is out of the question for the fast-paced drinks company. All or nothing is the motto. But Williams wants money for the Argentinian. Another 20 million dollars, it is rumoured. In the event of Colapinto signing, Red Bull would then already be at 80 million.

The most likely scenario is therefore: Colapinto stays with Williams, but Perez is bought out at the end of the season - and replaced by New Zealander Liam Lawson, who is currently attracting attention with the Racing Bulls junior team.

https://f1-insider.com/formel-1-perez-k ... ten-64949/

[Jurgen von Diaz]

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.

[dialtone]

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.

[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?

[Cs98]

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.

[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.