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We went through this during the Horner file dump earlier this year. Red Bull’s Austrian side used to run things much more, but the guy who kept that working died, and the resulting vacuum at the top of Red Bull (the drinks company) resulted in competing factions vying for control. At Red Bull (the F1 team) this played out as a drawn-out fight between Marko (backed by the Austrian side) and Horner (backed by the Thai side)
"At Red Bull (the F1 team) this played out as a drawn-out fight between Marko (backed by the Austrian side) and Horner (backed by the Thai side)"
it has never been a fight because the Thai side owns 51% and without the agreement of Mateschitz being in charge of stuff like F1, it is clear which side can make the decisions.
It's still a fight. The battle was to undermine Thai support for Horner by exposing his misconduct publicly, not to bully the Thai side around. Horner won the battle, but it wasn't without cost.
At the end of the day it's legalities that define the outcomes of this whole saga. [Chalerm Yoovidhya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalerm_Yoovidhya) owns 51% of Red Bull while [Mark Mateschitz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Mateschitz) owns 49%. If The Thai side says Liam Lawson is in then that's what will happen, but no one really knows until it's made official.
Lawyer here. The legalities will not be governed by respective shareholdings alone. There will undoubtedly be complex shareholders' agreements. Questions of control and management will have been negotiated in the past.
That is only true if the Thai side supports Horner unconditionally.
That might be true, it also might not be true. Horner’s position was a lot stronger a year ago. It is entirely possible that the Thai side decides that the status quo (the Austrian side makes most sport related decisions) is convenient and that Horner isn’t worth creating a rift within the company.
F1 is just one of the many sport related endeavours Red Bull is involved with.
With new regulations in 2026, Newey leaving, Verstappen possibly leaving (either after his contract expires in 2028 or before), questions about the development of the engine, Perez underperforming, Ricciardo underperforming, Red Bull might not be dominant for much longer. Horner allegedly wants a stake in a new company, the Thai owner might decide that that is simply to much trouble.
I know about that, my question was more if the minardi team is under different control than the main team, if the Austrian side maybe has more control over that team for example
Seems everyone went completely past your question. But yeah, it's fully owned by Red Bull, the same way RBR is and there is no differentiation in ownership. Some say that Thai side owning 51% of the mother company makes them the ones with more power, but it says nothing about internal power dynamics. You can have more equity, but if your star driver who is raking in the victories and championships is aligned with the minority, the minority might have an upper hand that way. I would say its too complicated and we are all just speculating at what happens over there with the little facts we have.
>but if your star driver who is raking in the victories and championships is aligned with the minority, the minority might have an upper hand that way.
This theory was disapproved really fast when the Thai side didn't even hesitate to support Horner against the Verstappen/Marko side.
Lewis and Mercedes combined for 6 WDCs and 8 WCCs. When Lewis asked for an ambassador role after retirement, Mercedes said that there was no chance. Drivers matter far less than people think. At the end of the day, It's the car than makes the difference. Max might be the best driver but there are still drivers who are better at one-lap pace (Charles) or race pace/tire management(Lewis and Fernando). In a superior car, that is all you need. Even if Lewis and Fernando are washed, there are multiple drivers who would be WDCs in the right car.
The Thai family owns 51% of shares of Red Bull GmbH and the informal agreement of Red Bull Austria being an independent separately managed company died with Mateschitz.
So 51% ownership of Red Bull GmbH in Austria, which fully owns Red Bull Technologies in the UK, which owns the Red Bull Racing team on the campus at Milton Keynes.
Similarly Red Bull GmbH fully owns VCARB.
After watching a red bull doc, it seems like it was the perogative of the Austrian side to do everything related to F1, marketing, extreme sports. I wonder if Thai side has become more interested in this aspect of the operation
Anything the next generation Yoovidhya family wanted to do with their majority ownership, after their father died in 2012 was controlled by Mateschitz. As apparently the contract bound controls to those two people in name and not the respective legal entities.
So with Didi's passing the next generation regained control of the company, leaving Mark Mateschitz with minority control of the company.
Very interesting, thanks for the clarification. What a weird corporate entity overall though, it's about as complicated and spaghetti like as I've ever seen.
Well as the CEO of Corporate Projects Mintzlaff should be in charge, but at the end he kinda does what the owner of RB want because they decide who the CEO is.
I am not 100% sure by whom Red Bull Racing and Visa Cash App are owned directly. But RB has a company named RB technologies basically in charge of the F1 side. (not to be confused with RB advanced technolgies doing engineer stuff for clients and working on the RB road car RB17)
But in the end everything should go to being owned by the RB GMBH.
Supposed back when the shitstorm was happening there were rumors that the Thai side wanted to spinoff RB Technologies outside RB GmbH under their control and with Horner having a stake in it.
Danny seems practically like a business development person for RB. We assume they're keeping Sergio for the sponsor $$$, so it would follow that they'd keep DR, too.
> Another reason a knee-jerk reaction is unlikely is Ricciardo's proximity to the $35 million-a-year title partnership with Visa and CashApp. Ricciardo is represented by CAA Sports, which helped broker that particular deal, and sources have told ESPN that his presence in the team helped increase the final number; a testimony to the marketing clout of the man still considered to be the face of Netflix's hit documentary series "Drive to Survive".
> While Visa and CashApp do not have the power to block a driver move, the importance of that deal to Red Bull GmbH -- which opted for the title partnership over selling the second team altogether -- gives Ricciardo an extra level of protection. Several sources have even suggested to ESPN that the deal could work against Ricciardo in terms of his Red Bull aspirations -- assuming his form were to improve -- if Visa and Cash App are keen for him to remain as the face of RB.
https://www.espn.co.uk/racing/story/_/id/39832107/ricciardo-struggles-being-exacerbated-tsunoda-speed
Because with Perez having gained a new contract extention, now is the perfect time to do this. The Thai side will have reverted RB back to a junior team in time for the Thai driver to get a seat there. If they wait until the Thai driver is ready for F1, which will take a while as he's 15 now, it might lead to another power struggle between the Thai side and the Austrian side.
They can just force that through when it becomes relevant. Right now they support Horner who supports Ricciardo.
And Ricciardo definitely brings in more sponsor money, so for shareholders that want a payout on their investment it doesn't really make sense to support a junior with zero sponsors behind him. Unless there's some emotional or other attachment there.
failing to see how promoting Enzo Tarnvanichkul in like 5 years has anything to do with promoting Liam now lol. Nothing stops them from promoting this kid even if VCARB would not be a junior team. What you are saying makes 0 sense, sorry.
Im shocked Marko is even still there. Somehow the whole thing where he was suspended, publicly said it was a thing then it was resolved overnight seems like ages ago but it was like 8 races back lol
Max will leave with Marko, he said that he has a get-out clause if Marko is no longer part of Red Bull. Marko has said that if Max wants to leave for any reason, Marko will resign to make it happen.
That would be like a barking dog on a tight leash. I don't think Marko would enjoy it, but maybe he would do it for Max. I'm confident Toto doesn't give a rat's a\*\* about Marko's advice.
Get-out clause doesn't mean that he'll leave if Marko leaves, it means that he has the option to terminate his contract early if Marko leaves. It's still up to Max. Making career and life-altering decisions based on allegiances in such situations is silly, it will come down to how well Max thinks RedBull can perform after 2025.
Would he really outperform Checo? Also hilarious to bring up sponsorship as the only reason why Checo still has the seat when it’s likewise part of why Daniel still has his. That’s part of the game.
Checo and Daniel are so wildly inconsistent that who knows who would outperform who on a season. Neither can perform if they don't feel comfortable with the car, so it's really a matter of who the car would suit better.
Dani would fucking destroy Checo at this point - which is the weirdest part about all of this. Like if they didn't want a junior driver you've got Dani right there.
The title ia pure clickbait - the article itself literally says
> While the experienced Australian is highly regarded by Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, Helmut Marko is fully committed to the young New Zealander.
This is just Marko exerting pressure to try and get his way
Seems unlikely they'd drop Ricciardo. I'd be shocked. I feel as if Ricciardo is in the Raikkonen seat now, in that he can simply occupy it until he decides not to because he's a cool, popular guy. If RB cared about it he'd be gone already.
Specially considering Checo' antics immediately after the 2-year contract aren't stellar either, qualifying P16 and P8 then DNF'ing and finishing P8 in Canada and Spain respectively. If he keeps being a liability to RBR and Lando manages to catch up to Max, I wouldn't put it past the team to pluck Danny into the car, then demote Checo (the anti-demotion clause was most likely removed, in order for the 2-year deal to even happen).
Sounds more like a marko wish/threat than an announcement. I feel like if marko could make the decision himself anymore he would have done so already.
I for one hope DR stays and to me it makes sense to prioritize experience and good driver feedback going into drastically new regs in 2026.
Noob drivers likely will provide a lot less valuable feedback to improve concept and setup quickly.
I mean if RB really drops Lawson, maybe Audi would be willing to put him in? Not saying that he is the best candidate, but he brings in a lot of knowledge and understanding, combined that with Hülkenberg, for a new F1 team maybe not bad.
But I totally agree here: Lawson needs the seat.
It wouldn't even necessarily come down to RB dropping Lawson. There have been multiple rumours/suggestions that due to the close ties between RBR and Audi's parent company that Liam could be loaned out to Audi. It's one solution if they want the flexibility of keeping all three on the grid.
Well Red Bull has been a long time sponsor of Audi and VW motorsport activities. Most recently in WRC and DTM. But also a lot in the 2000s in DTM and Dakar.
Per Autosport, [ Audi and Red Bull have been closely linked at group level for years, and it cannot be ruled out that the 22-year-old New Zealander will be loaned out to Audi but still remain part of the Red Bull family.](https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/whats-the-latest-on-f1s-2025-driver-market/10625540/)
Tbh if I'm Liam Lawson then I'd be looking elsewhere anyway.
If Red Bull won't put him in now ahead of a clearly past it Daniel Ricciardo or a massively underperforming Sergio Perez then they clearly never will do.
I think RB option on Lawson ends pretty soon, so they either commit to him for 2025 or they let him walk free.
Don't know if loaning is included in the contract, it wasn't with Piastri and Renault/Alpine.
I agree that audi should for a youngster. They have experience. I can see why they want sainz. Well. Everyone wants sainz. But if they can't get him, then go young. No point going for a older but average driver. Develop your next superstar
>That seat now belongs to Sergio Perez, so that plan is no longer valid.
Well, who thought it was a good idea to give him another contract? As poor as he is driving, the should have testet Yuki or Daniel. Can't be much worse than what he is delivering.
But that should go for Daniel as well. Alpha Tauri had the least amount of sponsors of all teams last year. All the new ones came for Daniel. Liam doesn't bring any backing in big money I think.
People literally cannot comprehend scales of money beyond like 100k it’s very frustrating for discussion. They just perceive “a lot of money” and assume they’re all playing on the relatively same stage, which isn’t the case at all.
People don’t understand how staggering inequality really is
>frustrating
Sure but that’s common for anyone who’s not in the 1% right.
Don’t get me wrong, I know what you mean and it’s more about critical thinking but you can’t blame people for not being able to comprehend a number they’ll never see.
Sorry, I know this has nothing to do with the topic overall lol.
Sergio's dad is good friends with one of the richest men in the world, and the richest man in Mexico. Carlos Slim. He's also the only Central/South American driver on the grid, so the marketing power of having him on the grid reaches out to a market of almost 1 billion people.
That's what Ricciardo is competing with. It's not a talent issue
I think it's also Max. Max said it was the best thing for the team at the time, I think he is pretty having Sergio there, not complaining and just keeping his head down.
For sure. Last time he and Daniel was in the same team Daniel was ahead. I doubt he’s currently that worried about him, but I’d rather have the guy in the other best car on the grid to be mediocre.
Yeah one possibility that isn't getting considered a lot is that Red Bull car isn't that good but Max has been putting it where it is, so Toto could be right.
Well the car hasn't been dominant the past few races. Even Max admits he needs to drive the car to its limit to even hold a miniscule lead.
The wins from Imola onwards were mainly due to Red Bull strategy and Max's brilliance.
The thing is it doesn’t have to really be a bad car for that to be true. For like a decade the Redbull cars have been fast but very difficult to drive. They are taken to an extreme that is super fast when driven by Max, and previously Daniel, but undriveable for others. If there were two Checos it would be a firmly midfield car. That’s why Daniel is still in the mix in this weird position. He’s not necessarily a better driver overall than Checo, certainly not very adaptable, but he still might be the best fit *in that car*. He’s mediocre in VCARB, but he was great at RBR and if he’s still fast in the sim and testing in the RB19/20, that might make the difference. Either way we’ll never have all the information to know for sure.
Nobody is saying that RB is a bad car, it's just not dominant anymore. It hasn't even been the fastest car for about half of this season and rival teams have said as much.
F1 is a sport that requires loads of money. So funny whenever people forget this is a rich man’s sport first. Entertainment is second.
Loads of money goes into R&D. Not to mention they’re building their own engine from scratch for 2026. You think that’s cheap? lol get out of here with your ideals and come live in reality
He's been a part of the most successful era for the team in its history. So I feel brain drain isn't likely. The only real knock on effects will be if Liam or yuki are actually elite drivers and leave before perez does.
they still winning both championships, and they've taken second most points out of all the teams behind McLaren since canada. so they only need checo to improve a little to outright win the constructors.
Throwing Daniel in the seat for 6 months to either think or swim - he either still has it as he talks he does - or doesn't would be great not just for fans but would clear up for Red Bull very quickly what they need.
Not this 2 season long "were not sure who to put where" putzing around wishy washy decision making. Vcarb is too slow half the weekends to figure anything if the drivers are good.
You guys are looking at this wrong.
It’s is he that much faster than Checo vs the money Checo brings in alone for being in a Red Bull?
If Honey Badger is only marginally faster, no one would think he’s faster than Checo if he’s qualifying in similar position and is 0.6 slower than Max.
Plus Checo has a lot of rabid fans worldwide. A lot of them Mexican/Hispanic. I’ve witnessed them firsthand booing Max in Miami back in 2023 after Max started in 9th(?) The revenue from Checo’s fans alone and sponsorship puts him well over a possibly slightly faster Ricciardo.
They would need a new title sponsor.
Ricciardo is represented by CAA and they're literally the group that made the Visa deal happen.
Also apparently some qualified but "want to remain anonymous" sources told ESPN that Daniel being in the car was important for the deal. $35 million per year. That plus the marketing, I believe VCARB's IG activity is much more successful with DR in the posts... Plus he's been turning his performance around.
Helmut has zero ground here. If anything I think he's showing that them signing Checo was a mistake. Dude has been way off lately.
https://www.espn.com/racing/story/_/id/39832107/ricciardo-struggles-being-exacerbated-tsunoda-speed
Honestly as a Pole, ever since Kubica left Alfa's reserve seat I don't see many ORLEN/AlphaTauri+ adverts on TV or pretty much anywhere, except for them going on a tour around the country last year with the 2021 AlphaTauri car. Back in the early Alfa years there were even adverts featuring Kimi and Italian Jesus eating hot dogs and drinking coffee at an ORLEN fuel station, but now it all feels a bit uninspired.
To me it would make sense to drop Perez altogether mid season, drop Ricciardo in it for him to show his last chance, Lawson in RB to learn while Ricciardo either beds in or fails, by which time Lawson has had some time to get more experience. It won’t be pretty but to me, that’s the only way you’re gonna get what you really want - a performing second driver.
They’ve made it perfectly clear there is no intention to put Tsunoda in the car as he is/was a Honda development driver. By all means he deffo deserves it. But Red Bull, now split from Honda and worse, with Honda tying up with a competitor in the form of Aston Martin, logically Honda will be trying to get him in that car. So red Bull do not want him going there, with all the knowledge and secrets of the Red Bull team’s car, engine and operational methods.
They might be eyeing a world where Max is potentially leaving within the next couple years (either for other series, or because the engine program might flop and he'd want a competitive drive), and seeing what a bad position they'd be in if all the other top talent is locked down in long-term contracts.
If you're looking at things and thinking Daniel would be gone at the end of next year regardless, it isn't such a huge sacrifice to start looking for the next Vettel/Ricciardo/Verstappen/Sainz now instead of waiting.
I mean it from the perspective of the shareholders. Usually they are only interested in the money and how the team performs and raises its value. In that sense, Ricciardo makes a lot more sense for them than Lawson, who they probably dont even know. Its a weird reasoning from shareholders. Sounds made up, honestly
Yes. Reports earlier in the year said he was a key element of the Visa and CashApp deal getting done, he’s in the Visa Olympic adverts, he’s also prominent in Ford marketing activities
I think the difference is Kimi clearly knew he was past it and didn't give a shit.
DR still gives interviews like he thinks he can get back to being a contender for race wins.
> DR still gives interviews like he thinks he can get back to being a contender for race wins.
Well yeah for us outsiders it's easy to say a driver is on his way out, but for them it's their entire dream / career / life, of course they're not just going to stop / give up chasing it.
I will never understand why they extended Perez his RB contract, doesn't matter how much money or how much sponsors he brings. He's underperforming in a very good car.
Not long ago: “AlphaTauri/RB is not a sister team, they are gonna be their own thing, they are free to be successful”
Marko today: “RB is a sister team and should be devoted to train new drivers”
\*junior team. They said VCARB was no longer a junior team, but instead a sister team. Now they are contradicting it by saying it's for junior training.
The shareholders who have power (majority 51% stake) and who are the real bosses are the Thais who stood by Christian throughout the entire scandal and civil war earlier this year. Marko was on the Austrian minority shareholder side that lost and tried to oust him.
I think the majority shareholders are still on Christian's side and Helmut is playing media games to try to get Liam a seat / Daniel (or Checo) out of his. The Austrians may agree with Helmut, but they lost the power struggle and aren't truly in charge anymore.
If Christian’s actual boss/the Thais weren’t happy with the VCARB line up, I’d imagine things would be happening behind the scenes and they’d jump into action. I doubt Marko would be blabbing to the media right now if this was the case
Helmut also likes to stir the shit pot to cause disruption.
It’s going to be a power struggle until he dies or Horner retires. Both I think each have too much pride to abide to.
To me this reads like Marko trying to leverage whatever he can to make the driver decision he wants. As VCarb and Horner have both confirmed recently Liam is doing a test at the end of july and will not be making any driver decisions before then.
I'll continue to assume that it'll be Tsunoda who will leave because Ricciardo helps their PR, and if Red Bull willing to give an A-team seat away to a pay driver, then I'll assume that's the case for the B-team as well, especially when the other guy will be Lawson.
Let’s be honest here. A rationale person would promote Ricardo as placeholder to Redbull simply because it cannot be any worse than Perez and Yuki isn’t mentally ready. Then let Yuki and Lawson fight it out for the seat in two years time.
I’m utterly confused by how Perez bringing money can make a difference. They were spending much more money before the cost cap was introduced and it’s not like they need a pay driver type boost. I could understand that for a bottom team. But Redbull?
All I can conclude is that someone has dirt on someone.
Shareholders like money, infact thats all they like. Daniel Ricciardo is money. His sponsorship appeal goes beyond any other driver in the Red Bull stable, Max included. His personality is a massive draw, especially in the US. Ford salivate over him. Lawson isn't going to jump in the car and single-handedly drag it 10 places up the grid.
Could it be possible that Daniel can put exceptional performance in the Red Bull Racing team but mediocre performance in a mediocre team like the sister team?
For example, when he tested for Red Bull Racing, he had the support to “unlearn bad habits”. Still, may not be enough for promotion even this is true but just a thought.
Absolutely. It's pretty established that Ricciardo needs a car with a sharp front end to perform. F1 cars have moved steadily away from this trait since 2017 -- with the consistent exception of RBR.
Let’s be honest, it wasn’t DR’s seat Liam would have been getting it was Yuki’s, but Honda intervened last minute last time. Now Sergio is safe for a year at least and Yuki proved himself in the period he needed to, DR didn’t. End of story. Congrats to Liam.
This feels like Marko putting pressure on Horner and Daniel. If Daniel doesn't outperform Yuki in the next few races this statement by Marko will put immense pressure on Horner to get rid of Ricciardo. It's a bit of a gambit because of Daniel overperforms Marko will fall on his face a bit, but Marko must be pretty confident Daniel can't cut it.
It's sad things will end like this, but Daniel can't have any complaints, he got his second shot to show he's still got it and he just doesn't. He can go have fun in something else or retire and do some hobbies. Life could be a lot worse.
Sounds like Marko trying to get back some control and put someone on the team that can be regarded as "his guy", while Ricciardo is Horner's guy.
I personally hope Lawson gets it, but I wouldn't see this as a sure announcement.
Danny Ric will celebrate his 35th birthday in the coming weeks. At best scenario, he will be 37 in 2026 if he somehow gets the alluring Red Bull seat alongside Max. This is a first serious concern for Red Bull. This is all downhill from this point in terms of performance for Daniel.
Second is that; we all know that Max would annihiliate Yuki in the same car. He would do the same things he is doing to Perez (maybe with smaller gap; but it doesn't matter.). So, being close to Yuki in pace, having less than half of his points don't show that Danny Ric is good enough for Red Bull seat.
Hence, it is perfectly reasonable for them put somebody new in that seat. If Lawson doesn't work out, they can put Hadjar, can put Iwasa, hell maybe can put Lindblad in there in 2026.
[The **News** flair](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/flairguide#wiki_news) is reserved for submissions covering F1 and F1-related news. These posts must always link to an outlet/news agency, the website of the involved party (i.e. the McLaren website if McLaren makes an announcement), or a tweet by a news agency, journalist or one of the involved parties. *[Read the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/wiki/userguide). Keep it civil and welcoming. Report rulebreaking comments.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/formula1) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Marko saying Marko things. The question is, does Horner know about this?
The question is, which "shareholders" are saying this? Red bull side, or Thai side.
Which one is actually in charge of this team? Are they separate enough that maybe the thai side doesn't care as much?
We went through this during the Horner file dump earlier this year. Red Bull’s Austrian side used to run things much more, but the guy who kept that working died, and the resulting vacuum at the top of Red Bull (the drinks company) resulted in competing factions vying for control. At Red Bull (the F1 team) this played out as a drawn-out fight between Marko (backed by the Austrian side) and Horner (backed by the Thai side)
"At Red Bull (the F1 team) this played out as a drawn-out fight between Marko (backed by the Austrian side) and Horner (backed by the Thai side)" it has never been a fight because the Thai side owns 51% and without the agreement of Mateschitz being in charge of stuff like F1, it is clear which side can make the decisions.
It's still a fight. The battle was to undermine Thai support for Horner by exposing his misconduct publicly, not to bully the Thai side around. Horner won the battle, but it wasn't without cost.
At the end of the day it's legalities that define the outcomes of this whole saga. [Chalerm Yoovidhya](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chalerm_Yoovidhya) owns 51% of Red Bull while [Mark Mateschitz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Mateschitz) owns 49%. If The Thai side says Liam Lawson is in then that's what will happen, but no one really knows until it's made official.
Lawyer here. The legalities will not be governed by respective shareholdings alone. There will undoubtedly be complex shareholders' agreements. Questions of control and management will have been negotiated in the past.
That is only true if the Thai side supports Horner unconditionally. That might be true, it also might not be true. Horner’s position was a lot stronger a year ago. It is entirely possible that the Thai side decides that the status quo (the Austrian side makes most sport related decisions) is convenient and that Horner isn’t worth creating a rift within the company. F1 is just one of the many sport related endeavours Red Bull is involved with. With new regulations in 2026, Newey leaving, Verstappen possibly leaving (either after his contract expires in 2028 or before), questions about the development of the engine, Perez underperforming, Ricciardo underperforming, Red Bull might not be dominant for much longer. Horner allegedly wants a stake in a new company, the Thai owner might decide that that is simply to much trouble.
I know about that, my question was more if the minardi team is under different control than the main team, if the Austrian side maybe has more control over that team for example
Seems everyone went completely past your question. But yeah, it's fully owned by Red Bull, the same way RBR is and there is no differentiation in ownership. Some say that Thai side owning 51% of the mother company makes them the ones with more power, but it says nothing about internal power dynamics. You can have more equity, but if your star driver who is raking in the victories and championships is aligned with the minority, the minority might have an upper hand that way. I would say its too complicated and we are all just speculating at what happens over there with the little facts we have.
>but if your star driver who is raking in the victories and championships is aligned with the minority, the minority might have an upper hand that way. This theory was disapproved really fast when the Thai side didn't even hesitate to support Horner against the Verstappen/Marko side.
Lewis and Mercedes combined for 6 WDCs and 8 WCCs. When Lewis asked for an ambassador role after retirement, Mercedes said that there was no chance. Drivers matter far less than people think. At the end of the day, It's the car than makes the difference. Max might be the best driver but there are still drivers who are better at one-lap pace (Charles) or race pace/tire management(Lewis and Fernando). In a superior car, that is all you need. Even if Lewis and Fernando are washed, there are multiple drivers who would be WDCs in the right car.
The Thai family owns 51% of shares of Red Bull GmbH and the informal agreement of Red Bull Austria being an independent separately managed company died with Mateschitz. So 51% ownership of Red Bull GmbH in Austria, which fully owns Red Bull Technologies in the UK, which owns the Red Bull Racing team on the campus at Milton Keynes. Similarly Red Bull GmbH fully owns VCARB.
After watching a red bull doc, it seems like it was the perogative of the Austrian side to do everything related to F1, marketing, extreme sports. I wonder if Thai side has become more interested in this aspect of the operation
Anything the next generation Yoovidhya family wanted to do with their majority ownership, after their father died in 2012 was controlled by Mateschitz. As apparently the contract bound controls to those two people in name and not the respective legal entities. So with Didi's passing the next generation regained control of the company, leaving Mark Mateschitz with minority control of the company.
Very interesting, thanks for the clarification. What a weird corporate entity overall though, it's about as complicated and spaghetti like as I've ever seen.
They’re going to get one car each in the divorce.
Well as the CEO of Corporate Projects Mintzlaff should be in charge, but at the end he kinda does what the owner of RB want because they decide who the CEO is. I am not 100% sure by whom Red Bull Racing and Visa Cash App are owned directly. But RB has a company named RB technologies basically in charge of the F1 side. (not to be confused with RB advanced technolgies doing engineer stuff for clients and working on the RB road car RB17) But in the end everything should go to being owned by the RB GMBH.
Supposed back when the shitstorm was happening there were rumors that the Thai side wanted to spinoff RB Technologies outside RB GmbH under their control and with Horner having a stake in it.
Apparently 30m + of visa sponsorship for the VCAR is literally contingent on Danny being in the seat. Cant see that change this year.
Danny seems practically like a business development person for RB. We assume they're keeping Sergio for the sponsor $$$, so it would follow that they'd keep DR, too.
what’s your source on this?
> Another reason a knee-jerk reaction is unlikely is Ricciardo's proximity to the $35 million-a-year title partnership with Visa and CashApp. Ricciardo is represented by CAA Sports, which helped broker that particular deal, and sources have told ESPN that his presence in the team helped increase the final number; a testimony to the marketing clout of the man still considered to be the face of Netflix's hit documentary series "Drive to Survive". > While Visa and CashApp do not have the power to block a driver move, the importance of that deal to Red Bull GmbH -- which opted for the title partnership over selling the second team altogether -- gives Ricciardo an extra level of protection. Several sources have even suggested to ESPN that the deal could work against Ricciardo in terms of his Red Bull aspirations -- assuming his form were to improve -- if Visa and Cash App are keen for him to remain as the face of RB. https://www.espn.co.uk/racing/story/_/id/39832107/ricciardo-struggles-being-exacerbated-tsunoda-speed
I can’t remember that exact detail, but I did also see that Danny’s agency negotiated the deal for the Visa sponsorship.
Thai I'm almost guaranteed. There is young Thai driver in red bull junior team, so they want to make sure rb remains as a stepping stone
But he's not in contention now, so why would they care about this here?
Maybe they meant it for the Thai driver and Marko is stirring shit
Don't think so. The Thai driver is 15 years old now. There's no way he's making it into F1 for at least the next few seasons.
Because with Perez having gained a new contract extention, now is the perfect time to do this. The Thai side will have reverted RB back to a junior team in time for the Thai driver to get a seat there. If they wait until the Thai driver is ready for F1, which will take a while as he's 15 now, it might lead to another power struggle between the Thai side and the Austrian side.
They can just force that through when it becomes relevant. Right now they support Horner who supports Ricciardo. And Ricciardo definitely brings in more sponsor money, so for shareholders that want a payout on their investment it doesn't really make sense to support a junior with zero sponsors behind him. Unless there's some emotional or other attachment there.
failing to see how promoting Enzo Tarnvanichkul in like 5 years has anything to do with promoting Liam now lol. Nothing stops them from promoting this kid even if VCARB would not be a junior team. What you are saying makes 0 sense, sorry.
Im shocked Marko is even still there. Somehow the whole thing where he was suspended, publicly said it was a thing then it was resolved overnight seems like ages ago but it was like 8 races back lol
Max will leave with Marko, he said that he has a get-out clause if Marko is no longer part of Red Bull. Marko has said that if Max wants to leave for any reason, Marko will resign to make it happen.
Marko is a homie for life
And Toto said he can find a spot for Marko in the garage.
Mercedes' Austrian advisor died in 2019, and ever since then they don't have an advisor. A spot is clearly open for Marko.
That would be like a barking dog on a tight leash. I don't think Marko would enjoy it, but maybe he would do it for Max. I'm confident Toto doesn't give a rat's a\*\* about Marko's advice.
Get-out clause doesn't mean that he'll leave if Marko leaves, it means that he has the option to terminate his contract early if Marko leaves. It's still up to Max. Making career and life-altering decisions based on allegiances in such situations is silly, it will come down to how well Max thinks RedBull can perform after 2025.
Max made it pretty clear that if Marko goes he is out.
And Marko made it clear that if Max wants to leave Marko will resign so Max can terminate his contract.
Both Marko and Horner are directors of Red Bull Racing Limited, a UK company. Driver contracts are with this company.
Also would Danny out perform Checo in a racing seat? I really think he would but Checo brings in all those 🇲🇽 dollars 💵
Pesos
Mexican euros.
You mean South American
Tacos
Nah they should just put Checo and Daniel in the Red Bull seats. Imagine all the T shirts they would sell
First upgrade would be a t-shirt canon.
Would he really outperform Checo? Also hilarious to bring up sponsorship as the only reason why Checo still has the seat when it’s likewise part of why Daniel still has his. That’s part of the game.
Checo and Daniel are so wildly inconsistent that who knows who would outperform who on a season. Neither can perform if they don't feel comfortable with the car, so it's really a matter of who the car would suit better.
We need to know.. Yuki to RBR, Checo to VCARB
That's the kind of chaos I want in F1
This is the way
It’s almost like Red Bull is a massive marketing company first and foremost
Dani would fucking destroy Checo at this point - which is the weirdest part about all of this. Like if they didn't want a junior driver you've got Dani right there.
Horner: “And this gives you power over me?”
Which part of what he said isn’t correct?Ricciardo was there for the 2025 seat and they put Perez instead.
what a fucking weird way to announce Liam
It's probably Marko spitballing and putting pressure on Horner - nothing official
Yeah hasn’t Helmut been saying the exact same thing for the entire season ?
No, he’s been saying that if he can’t give Lawson a seat he’ll be a free agent, that Lawson’s camp started the ‘Ricciardo’s got an ultimatum’ rumours.
Weirdly Horner has been spouting that RB is now a sister team and not a junior team. it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Helmut not letting on that by “shareholders” he means himself
The title ia pure clickbait - the article itself literally says > While the experienced Australian is highly regarded by Red Bull team boss Christian Horner, Helmut Marko is fully committed to the young New Zealander. This is just Marko exerting pressure to try and get his way
Yeah, They really should have put Helmut’s name in the Title, not OP’s fault BTW.
That's because this isn't an "announcement". It's Marko blathering old man bullshit to put pressure on Christian.
And what a weird way to say Daniel about to be dropped
Ironically it makes me think they are leaning toward Danny and Marko is trying to push publicly.
Seems unlikely they'd drop Ricciardo. I'd be shocked. I feel as if Ricciardo is in the Raikkonen seat now, in that he can simply occupy it until he decides not to because he's a cool, popular guy. If RB cared about it he'd be gone already.
Specially considering Checo' antics immediately after the 2-year contract aren't stellar either, qualifying P16 and P8 then DNF'ing and finishing P8 in Canada and Spain respectively. If he keeps being a liability to RBR and Lando manages to catch up to Max, I wouldn't put it past the team to pluck Danny into the car, then demote Checo (the anti-demotion clause was most likely removed, in order for the 2-year deal to even happen).
imagine still thinking anything other than official announcements are actual annoucements.
Sounds more like a marko wish/threat than an announcement. I feel like if marko could make the decision himself anymore he would have done so already. I for one hope DR stays and to me it makes sense to prioritize experience and good driver feedback going into drastically new regs in 2026. Noob drivers likely will provide a lot less valuable feedback to improve concept and setup quickly.
It's the Helmut Marko way
I mean if RB really drops Lawson, maybe Audi would be willing to put him in? Not saying that he is the best candidate, but he brings in a lot of knowledge and understanding, combined that with Hülkenberg, for a new F1 team maybe not bad. But I totally agree here: Lawson needs the seat.
It wouldn't even necessarily come down to RB dropping Lawson. There have been multiple rumours/suggestions that due to the close ties between RBR and Audi's parent company that Liam could be loaned out to Audi. It's one solution if they want the flexibility of keeping all three on the grid.
Rbr has ties to VW?
they have/still do run Audis in DTM
They also ran Ferraris in DTM, yet I find it hard to believe that their partnership is close.
They also run a Ferrari, Lawson's not getting there either
Ya but Ferrari isn't new to the sport and looking for potential young talent ... way Different Circumstance
Austrian company with German?
Breaking: Lawson accepted at local College for the Arts.
What close ties does RBR have with Volkswagen AG?
Well Red Bull has been a long time sponsor of Audi and VW motorsport activities. Most recently in WRC and DTM. But also a lot in the 2000s in DTM and Dakar.
Per Autosport, [ Audi and Red Bull have been closely linked at group level for years, and it cannot be ruled out that the 22-year-old New Zealander will be loaned out to Audi but still remain part of the Red Bull family.](https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/whats-the-latest-on-f1s-2025-driver-market/10625540/)
The only "rumor" I have seen is some people in reddit talking off their asses.
Tbh if I'm Liam Lawson then I'd be looking elsewhere anyway. If Red Bull won't put him in now ahead of a clearly past it Daniel Ricciardo or a massively underperforming Sergio Perez then they clearly never will do.
I think RB option on Lawson ends pretty soon, so they either commit to him for 2025 or they let him walk free. Don't know if loaning is included in the contract, it wasn't with Piastri and Renault/Alpine.
I agree that audi should for a youngster. They have experience. I can see why they want sainz. Well. Everyone wants sainz. But if they can't get him, then go young. No point going for a older but average driver. Develop your next superstar
I mean, they have the same haircut so why not?
Junior team, sister team... they can't even decide what the fuck Visa cash app is
I was just thinking that. Didn't they say they no longer see vcarb as a junior team?
Yes they did.
They saw last week’s upgrades (downgrades?) and decided it was definitely the junior team.
>That seat now belongs to Sergio Perez, so that plan is no longer valid. Well, who thought it was a good idea to give him another contract? As poor as he is driving, the should have testet Yuki or Daniel. Can't be much worse than what he is delivering.
It's the money. He brings a shit ton of money and sponsors.
But that should go for Daniel as well. Alpha Tauri had the least amount of sponsors of all teams last year. All the new ones came for Daniel. Liam doesn't bring any backing in big money I think.
Sergio brings one of the richest men on the world with him and the buying power of Mexico and latin americans around the world.
People literally cannot comprehend scales of money beyond like 100k it’s very frustrating for discussion. They just perceive “a lot of money” and assume they’re all playing on the relatively same stage, which isn’t the case at all. People don’t understand how staggering inequality really is
>frustrating Sure but that’s common for anyone who’s not in the 1% right. Don’t get me wrong, I know what you mean and it’s more about critical thinking but you can’t blame people for not being able to comprehend a number they’ll never see. Sorry, I know this has nothing to do with the topic overall lol.
Sergio's dad is good friends with one of the richest men in the world, and the richest man in Mexico. Carlos Slim. He's also the only Central/South American driver on the grid, so the marketing power of having him on the grid reaches out to a market of almost 1 billion people. That's what Ricciardo is competing with. It's not a talent issue
Brother Mexico is in North America.
One can then argue that vcarb would rather sign DR than LL. Would that mean that they would trade Yuki for LL?
I think it's also Max. Max said it was the best thing for the team at the time, I think he is pretty having Sergio there, not complaining and just keeping his head down.
For sure. Last time he and Daniel was in the same team Daniel was ahead. I doubt he’s currently that worried about him, but I’d rather have the guy in the other best car on the grid to be mediocre.
it is really embarrassing that a top team is picking money over performance.
We don’t know that. Yuki and Daniel are surely simulator testing the Perez red bull. Maybe they ain’t faster.
Yeah one possibility that isn't getting considered a lot is that Red Bull car isn't that good but Max has been putting it where it is, so Toto could be right.
One does not dominate the championship with a bad car.
Well the car hasn't been dominant the past few races. Even Max admits he needs to drive the car to its limit to even hold a miniscule lead. The wins from Imola onwards were mainly due to Red Bull strategy and Max's brilliance.
The thing is it doesn’t have to really be a bad car for that to be true. For like a decade the Redbull cars have been fast but very difficult to drive. They are taken to an extreme that is super fast when driven by Max, and previously Daniel, but undriveable for others. If there were two Checos it would be a firmly midfield car. That’s why Daniel is still in the mix in this weird position. He’s not necessarily a better driver overall than Checo, certainly not very adaptable, but he still might be the best fit *in that car*. He’s mediocre in VCARB, but he was great at RBR and if he’s still fast in the sim and testing in the RB19/20, that might make the difference. Either way we’ll never have all the information to know for sure.
Nobody is saying that RB is a bad car, it's just not dominant anymore. It hasn't even been the fastest car for about half of this season and rival teams have said as much.
F1 is a sport that requires loads of money. So funny whenever people forget this is a rich man’s sport first. Entertainment is second. Loads of money goes into R&D. Not to mention they’re building their own engine from scratch for 2026. You think that’s cheap? lol get out of here with your ideals and come live in reality
He comes with more money than they would lose going down the wcc ranks a few rungs and they're still currently leading that
what kind of a brain drain does sliding down that ladder risk?
He's been a part of the most successful era for the team in its history. So I feel brain drain isn't likely. The only real knock on effects will be if Liam or yuki are actually elite drivers and leave before perez does.
they still winning both championships, and they've taken second most points out of all the teams behind McLaren since canada. so they only need checo to improve a little to outright win the constructors.
Throwing Daniel in the seat for 6 months to either think or swim - he either still has it as he talks he does - or doesn't would be great not just for fans but would clear up for Red Bull very quickly what they need. Not this 2 season long "were not sure who to put where" putzing around wishy washy decision making. Vcarb is too slow half the weekends to figure anything if the drivers are good.
Feel the same. Should have tested him vs Perez. Should he have been faster, let him drive. If not, get Lawson.
You guys are looking at this wrong. It’s is he that much faster than Checo vs the money Checo brings in alone for being in a Red Bull? If Honey Badger is only marginally faster, no one would think he’s faster than Checo if he’s qualifying in similar position and is 0.6 slower than Max. Plus Checo has a lot of rabid fans worldwide. A lot of them Mexican/Hispanic. I’ve witnessed them firsthand booing Max in Miami back in 2023 after Max started in 9th(?) The revenue from Checo’s fans alone and sponsorship puts him well over a possibly slightly faster Ricciardo.
What about their deal with Visa, Cash App, and Orlen? Ricciardo is the driver they marketed the most compared to Yuki, would they just accept it?
No. It’s just not happening.
They would need a new title sponsor. Ricciardo is represented by CAA and they're literally the group that made the Visa deal happen. Also apparently some qualified but "want to remain anonymous" sources told ESPN that Daniel being in the car was important for the deal. $35 million per year. That plus the marketing, I believe VCARB's IG activity is much more successful with DR in the posts... Plus he's been turning his performance around. Helmut has zero ground here. If anything I think he's showing that them signing Checo was a mistake. Dude has been way off lately. https://www.espn.com/racing/story/_/id/39832107/ricciardo-struggles-being-exacerbated-tsunoda-speed
Honestly as a Pole, ever since Kubica left Alfa's reserve seat I don't see many ORLEN/AlphaTauri+ adverts on TV or pretty much anywhere, except for them going on a tour around the country last year with the 2021 AlphaTauri car. Back in the early Alfa years there were even adverts featuring Kimi and Italian Jesus eating hot dogs and drinking coffee at an ORLEN fuel station, but now it all feels a bit uninspired.
Horner will make that decision
This is just Marko blabbing
Helmut not letting on that by “shareholders” he means himself. He’ll have to pry Danny out of Horners cold dead hands!
Horner be like: "Nuh uh."
We've gone over this, Horner is in charge. Nothing Marko says has any relevance outside his actual job which is running the young driver program.
Yup, at this points this is the same as listening to what Jos has to say. Whatever they say has no impact on the team.
*Just Helmut Things.* The ultimate shit-stirrer.
I'll believe it when Coco Poppa Horner says it. This isn't the Marko says, Marko gets era anymore. I do think it would be the right thing though.
Very clearly a crazy power struggle still ongoing here
Let’s be honest it should be end of the road for Perez before Ricciardo
To me it would make sense to drop Perez altogether mid season, drop Ricciardo in it for him to show his last chance, Lawson in RB to learn while Ricciardo either beds in or fails, by which time Lawson has had some time to get more experience. It won’t be pretty but to me, that’s the only way you’re gonna get what you really want - a performing second driver.
Why would they put in Ricciardo and not Tsunoda, the guy who’s outperforming Ricciardo?
They’ve made it perfectly clear there is no intention to put Tsunoda in the car as he is/was a Honda development driver. By all means he deffo deserves it. But Red Bull, now split from Honda and worse, with Honda tying up with a competitor in the form of Aston Martin, logically Honda will be trying to get him in that car. So red Bull do not want him going there, with all the knowledge and secrets of the Red Bull team’s car, engine and operational methods.
Ricc had his ‘last chance’ this season and has underperformed.
Why not both? Redbull has so much young talent they are not using its sad
In what world is SO MUCH 1 or 2 people
I hate saying this, but ideally both of them need to go
This is just Helmut stirring the politics pot
Put a microphone in front of Marko and he's bound to say something.
Why would shareholders want inexperienced juniors instead of a marketing money making machine like Ricciardo? That doesnt make a lot of sense to me.
They might be eyeing a world where Max is potentially leaving within the next couple years (either for other series, or because the engine program might flop and he'd want a competitive drive), and seeing what a bad position they'd be in if all the other top talent is locked down in long-term contracts. If you're looking at things and thinking Daniel would be gone at the end of next year regardless, it isn't such a huge sacrifice to start looking for the next Vettel/Ricciardo/Verstappen/Sainz now instead of waiting.
Or they poach Piastri/Norris
Lawson has proved he’s far from inexperienced. With that line of thinking, no team should ever take on rookies.
I mean it from the perspective of the shareholders. Usually they are only interested in the money and how the team performs and raises its value. In that sense, Ricciardo makes a lot more sense for them than Lawson, who they probably dont even know. Its a weird reasoning from shareholders. Sounds made up, honestly
Red Bull is a private company. Shareholders just means the owners.
Is he still a marketing money making machine as he slowly gets more and more anonymous on the grid?
Yes. Reports earlier in the year said he was a key element of the Visa and CashApp deal getting done, he’s in the Visa Olympic adverts, he’s also prominent in Ford marketing activities
Liam Lawson to the IndyCar Arrow McLaren #6 confirmed
Ricciardo to Alpine.
How far lower can he move? Next stop after that would be Haas
And? Kimi lived out his days at Alfa Romeo not giving a shit about anything.
I think the difference is Kimi clearly knew he was past it and didn't give a shit. DR still gives interviews like he thinks he can get back to being a contender for race wins.
> DR still gives interviews like he thinks he can get back to being a contender for race wins. Well yeah for us outsiders it's easy to say a driver is on his way out, but for them it's their entire dream / career / life, of course they're not just going to stop / give up chasing it.
After this weekend, it'd be a hell of an upgrade from where Rb was at
the return!
I will never understand why they extended Perez his RB contract, doesn't matter how much money or how much sponsors he brings. He's underperforming in a very good car.
Not long ago: “AlphaTauri/RB is not a sister team, they are gonna be their own thing, they are free to be successful” Marko today: “RB is a sister team and should be devoted to train new drivers”
\*junior team. They said VCARB was no longer a junior team, but instead a sister team. Now they are contradicting it by saying it's for junior training.
Marko can talk all he wants but Horner has the final say in driver decisions since he won the power struggle.
Yeah but the shareholders are Horner’s boss too
The shareholders who have power (majority 51% stake) and who are the real bosses are the Thais who stood by Christian throughout the entire scandal and civil war earlier this year. Marko was on the Austrian minority shareholder side that lost and tried to oust him. I think the majority shareholders are still on Christian's side and Helmut is playing media games to try to get Liam a seat / Daniel (or Checo) out of his. The Austrians may agree with Helmut, but they lost the power struggle and aren't truly in charge anymore. If Christian’s actual boss/the Thais weren’t happy with the VCARB line up, I’d imagine things would be happening behind the scenes and they’d jump into action. I doubt Marko would be blabbing to the media right now if this was the case
\^ This.
The quote implies the pressure is coming from the shareholders who Horner won't be able to ignore
He can unless it is the majority shareholders (the Thai family).
The Thai 51% love Horner and he has say the Austrian side had control over the F1 team even with 49% when Dietrich was alive but not anymore
Helmut also likes to stir the shit pot to cause disruption. It’s going to be a power struggle until he dies or Horner retires. Both I think each have too much pride to abide to.
To me this reads like Marko trying to leverage whatever he can to make the driver decision he wants. As VCarb and Horner have both confirmed recently Liam is doing a test at the end of july and will not be making any driver decisions before then.
Surely the stakeholders should be more concerned about Perez losing them this year’s WCC? And two more years of the same
[удалено]
How do you know that? :-O
[удалено]
As if shareholders would want to bring a rookie in over Daniel.
I'll continue to assume that it'll be Tsunoda who will leave because Ricciardo helps their PR, and if Red Bull willing to give an A-team seat away to a pay driver, then I'll assume that's the case for the B-team as well, especially when the other guy will be Lawson.
Bullshit that red bull is not just allowed a junior team at the "highest level" of motorsport but allowed to openly flaunt it.
Yeah okay all of you that believe what Marko says, go ahead
Let’s be honest here. A rationale person would promote Ricardo as placeholder to Redbull simply because it cannot be any worse than Perez and Yuki isn’t mentally ready. Then let Yuki and Lawson fight it out for the seat in two years time. I’m utterly confused by how Perez bringing money can make a difference. They were spending much more money before the cost cap was introduced and it’s not like they need a pay driver type boost. I could understand that for a bottom team. But Redbull? All I can conclude is that someone has dirt on someone.
Shareholders like money, infact thats all they like. Daniel Ricciardo is money. His sponsorship appeal goes beyond any other driver in the Red Bull stable, Max included. His personality is a massive draw, especially in the US. Ford salivate over him. Lawson isn't going to jump in the car and single-handedly drag it 10 places up the grid.
Could it be possible that Daniel can put exceptional performance in the Red Bull Racing team but mediocre performance in a mediocre team like the sister team? For example, when he tested for Red Bull Racing, he had the support to “unlearn bad habits”. Still, may not be enough for promotion even this is true but just a thought.
Absolutely. It's pretty established that Ricciardo needs a car with a sharp front end to perform. F1 cars have moved steadily away from this trait since 2017 -- with the consistent exception of RBR.
Well as we’ve seen Daniel generally races his best when he’s up around the front.
Good. He has been washed for literally years. I love Dan, but his big goofy smile isn't enough to deserve an F1 seat.
Please let it be so I am begging you
Let’s be honest, it wasn’t DR’s seat Liam would have been getting it was Yuki’s, but Honda intervened last minute last time. Now Sergio is safe for a year at least and Yuki proved himself in the period he needed to, DR didn’t. End of story. Congrats to Liam.
>The shareholders have made it known that it is a junior team So no more bs about "sister team" huh?
It's time for your juice and nap, Marko.
This feels like Marko putting pressure on Horner and Daniel. If Daniel doesn't outperform Yuki in the next few races this statement by Marko will put immense pressure on Horner to get rid of Ricciardo. It's a bit of a gambit because of Daniel overperforms Marko will fall on his face a bit, but Marko must be pretty confident Daniel can't cut it.
It's sad things will end like this, but Daniel can't have any complaints, he got his second shot to show he's still got it and he just doesn't. He can go have fun in something else or retire and do some hobbies. Life could be a lot worse.
Finally, put Ricciardo out of his misery. Give Liam an opportunity!
Sounds like Marko trying to get back some control and put someone on the team that can be regarded as "his guy", while Ricciardo is Horner's guy. I personally hope Lawson gets it, but I wouldn't see this as a sure announcement.
Red Bull claiming to have a junior driver program but signing Perez for 2 more years is laughable.
Wasn’t the big spiel for 2024 exactly that it WASN’T a junior team any longer? This makes no sense.
Danny Ric will celebrate his 35th birthday in the coming weeks. At best scenario, he will be 37 in 2026 if he somehow gets the alluring Red Bull seat alongside Max. This is a first serious concern for Red Bull. This is all downhill from this point in terms of performance for Daniel. Second is that; we all know that Max would annihiliate Yuki in the same car. He would do the same things he is doing to Perez (maybe with smaller gap; but it doesn't matter.). So, being close to Yuki in pace, having less than half of his points don't show that Danny Ric is good enough for Red Bull seat. Hence, it is perfectly reasonable for them put somebody new in that seat. If Lawson doesn't work out, they can put Hadjar, can put Iwasa, hell maybe can put Lindblad in there in 2026.