Red Bull's increasingly disappointing driver selections are a direct result of two things: the astonishing rise of Max Verstappen and increasing competition in the junior driver ranks forcing Red Bull to operate in a more traditional sense in the Formula 1 driver market.
When the Red Bull Junior scheme was the only game in town for hot, up-and-coming talent short on budget, Red Bull could pretty much pick and choose the “next big things,” push to see if and when they would fall apart, and generally succeed through a ruthless process. From trial and error. Red Bull has enjoyed a relative embarrassment of riches.
Since then, other big teams have caught up, and now really good drivers can take their pick. Verstappen was Red Bull's last major play in this market – and he literally broke the mold while undermining pretty much every subsequent attempt to promote a young driver in his wake.
Verstappen was too hot for Daniel Ricciardo to handle, and the sheer weight of Verstappen's talent crushed Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon in quick succession. Sergio Perez continuing his role in this team is a direct result of all of that.
It means four things to Red Bull:
1. Everyone is betting on Verstappen – he single-handedly created a situation where in the end the rookie Red Bull driver was the one calling the shots and not the other way around. If he resigns, Red Bull is now incredibly exposed because it has no clear succession plan.
2. The short-lived 'mistakes' of over-promoting Gasly and Albon in the wake of Ricciardo's unexpected departure, combined with Yuki Tsunoda's unconvincing start to life in Formula 1, as well as some missteps in a more competitive junior driver market, meant the treasury is over. A little naked now.
With the exception of Liam Lawson, Red Bull don't have much pressure applied from their junior ranks. The top drivers who have taken Formula 1 by storm, or are on the verge of doing so, in recent times – Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Uli Biermann and Kimi Antonelli – have either rejected Red Bull or joined forces too early. A completely different team.
3. This means Red Bull has to compete more in the open market to secure the drivers it wants. McLaren are constantly working to keep Norris and Piastri out of the market, meaning Red Bull's preferred alternatives will likely be unavailable in the near term. a lot Of variable money.
4. Verstappen's iron grip on Red Bull makes choosing a teammate even more complicated. Two drivers now driving the top midfield teams were chewed up and spit out, so they ended up being released and sold. Very good drivers such as Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, who have recently become available, have been turned away – at least partly, or perhaps even mainly, because of how they might negatively disrupt Verstappen's personal balance.
In the end, it all comes down to Verstappen. Red Bull has broken its own system to get it in the door, and now the Red Bull driver program can't live with it and can't live without it – and in the meantime, other top teams have caught up and are now offering top talent an alternative route to the top of motorsport that doesn't involve Sign your life with an energy drink company in order to achieve your Formula 1 dream.
I don't think Red Bull has found it easy to adapt to this new reality – so drivers with experience but clearly a low performance ceiling, like Perez, are getting opportunities they no longer really deserve; Old favorites like Ricciardo are called out because the options are scarce, and huge kicks are taken on drivers, like Nyck de Vries, that Red Bull clearly didn't have much in-depth knowledge of.
Proper planning for the post-Verstappen world must truly be a priority for Red Bull. Yes, he's under contract for a long time – but that means nothing if he decides he wants to drive somewhere else or do something else, in this case simply Red Bull. needs To make sure she had a driver at least good enough to get by in his absence.
At the moment, it's difficult to know who that driver will be – unless a direct swap with Mercedes for Russell takes place in 2026…
