For the first time in three years, Red Bull finished off the 2024 season without a clean sweep of both the drivers’ championship and the constructors’ championship in Formula 1. A ten-race drought – with no grand prix wins from July-October – showed signs of a technical issue in the paddock, but despite it all, Max Verstappen persisted and pulled off one of his most hard-fought drivers’ championships ever. His teammate, Sergio Perez, however, had a very different experience in the RB20. While Perez had a strong start to the season, finishing on the podium in 4 out of the first 5 races, his ability to perform in the car diminished from there. 5 DNFs and several finishes out of the top 10 revealed potentially significant problems, which Perez openly discussed. While he cited the car not being made for his driving style as a potential issue, he also said he didn’t have confidence in the car. Perez’s struggles ultimately cost the team the constructors’ championship and yet another teammate of Verstappen’s was shown the door.

Liam Lawson (left) and Max Verstappen (right) talk during the 2024 season. (Photo via NYTimes.com)

Only short of Michael Schumacher for the most consecutive drivers’ championships in F1 history, there’s no doubt that Verstappen is a generational talent – so if there were problems with the car, he may be able to bypass them on pure skill. Any Red Bull teammate might feel the pressure to live up to this seemingly impossible standard.

But what exactly is Red Bull’s standard of excellence – and which second driver will meet this standard, if ever? Why does it seem ever more difficult to succeed while driving one of the best cars on the grid? Maybe it’s living in the shadow of your teammate, but maybe there’s more going on under the hood at Red Bull than meets the eye.

What is Red Bull Looking For in a Second Driver?

In a recent blog post, Red Bull acknowledged the cycle of turnover in its second seat, attempting to break the fourth wall between the rumor mill and reality. As for the team’s own explanation on what it wants in a second driver, here’s what the official statement says: 

 “For Red Bull Racing, the brief is fairly simple: they want a driver who scores consistently enough that they will win back the Constructors’ World Championship and who can keep pace with Verstappen on track as the Dutchman goes after his fifth world title.”

What makes Red Bull such a difficult place to race is this exact expectation – teams want to win, that’s the business. But keeping pace with Verstappen may not be possible, particularly in a car that is suited to his driving style first and foremost, as most teams typically do with their lead driver. On top of that, it’s known to be a difficult car to drive even for Verstappen. He noted in a recent interview how the divide between Red Bull drivers’ performance each season proves this –  other teams like McLaren and Ferrari are able to race each other each weekend, while Red Bull’s regularly finish far from each other on the grid. You could blame the less experienced driver, but when a world champion says the car is difficult to drive, he’s probably on to something. 

Alex Albon (left) and Pierre Gasly (right) pose for a photo in Toro Rosso and Red Bull gear. (Photo via FoxSports.com.au)

So when Red Bull says its ideal driver can keep up with Verstappen, but each second driver since Daniel Ricciardo – who left the team in 2018 – doesn’t seem to have the tools to do so, it’s time to turn to management. What could Red Bull do to better support its second driver and why hasn’t a team with arguably the most resources and talent in F1 found something that sticks yet? Where is the accountability for those who continue to maintain this cycle with no end in sight? The answer lies somewhere in the rocky history of this second seat.

How Red Bull Manages Its Driver Development Program

Red Bull has one of the strongest pipelines from its junior program to the Red Bull Formula 1 team. All F1 teams look to promote within to some degree, but Red Bull does it consistently, showing a strong preference to its junior drivers and proving that if a driver works hard enough and rises up the ranks from juniors to Racing Bulls, a seat could be waiting for them at Red Bull in the future.

Max Verstappen (right) talks with Helmut Marko (center) and Christian Horner (right) in the garage. (Photo via PlanetF1.com)

A big reason for this is the initiative of Dr. Helmut Marko, one of the team’s senior advisors and the head of the junior program. Current drivers Verstappen, Carlos Sainz, Pierre Gasly, and Alex Albon were all part of the Red Bull junior program. While his efforts to develop junior drivers into future F1 drivers have proven successful, the team’s ability to develop drivers that last at Red Bull has not. In fact, the only driver to not rise up from the junior program in the past 7 years is Perez – and he was the Dutchman’s longest serving teammate to date, partnering with Verstappen for four seasons.

And for those that do make it, Red Bull’s junior pipeline may offer promotion opportunities, but it does not offer loyalty. Gasly was promoted to Red Bull to replace Ricciardo, but he was only given 12 races to prove his worth. Albon replaced Gasly – he was given 26 races. The team changed its tune a bit with the signing of Perez, a veteran F1 driver who partnered with Verstappen for four seasons, but ultimately, losing the constructors’ championship last year and an 8th place finish in the drivers’ championship played a role in his ouster at the end of the 2024 season.

Yuki Tsunoda Set to Replace Liam Lawson at Red Bull

The fate of Red Bull’s latest driver is now sealed – after two finishes out of the top 10, Lawson is being replaced by Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda, effective immediately. So, here we are again – putting aside for a moment the fact that Lawson was hired and hand-picked by team principal Christian Horner and senior advisor Helmut Marko, it’s been just two races for the Kiwi. That’s quick, even for Red Bull. In the lead up, Lawson was asked about rumors of an early season switch, and expressed his urgency to learn how to drive this difficult car. Aware of the pressure he was under, he said somberly, “Unfortunately, I don’t really have time”. Instead of side-stepping the rumors or encouraging his young driver, when Marko was asked about Lawson’s response, he simply responded, “He’s right”. 

Racing Bulls driver Yuki Tsunoda (left) will now replace Liam Lawson at Red Bull (right). (Photo via Formula1.com)

Even though the million dollar question has been answered for now, we’ve been here before – this likely won’t be the last instance of this turn-and-burn cycle for Red Bull. Despite the junior program’s past success, Marko’s approach to motivating his athletes – embarrassing and shaming them in the media, 6 am phone calls demanding answers for the previous week’s performance, and a constant environment of uncertainty – which has only been heightened by Marko’s and Horner’s indecisiveness about what they want in a second driver – is causing real damage to the brand and potentially these drivers’ ability to be successful in the future. 

The team seems comfortable putting pressure on its drivers through the media, so let’s turn the tables and end this with a challenge to Red Bull – maybe it is time for the team to end this cycle and assess where it could help its second driver be more successful before it starts pointing fingers. There are more than a few places to start.