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Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has expressed his relief that Sergio Perez was allowed to rejoin the Japanese Grand Prix to serve his penalty, revealing the team’s strategy “is to prioritise” team-mate Max Verstappen. As Verstappen claimed his 13th victory of the F1 2023 season to secure the Constructors’ Championship for Red Bull, team-mate Perez had yet another disastrous day. Perez was forced to pit for a replacement front wing after contact at the start at Suzuka, before incurring a five-second penalty for passing Fernando Alonso under Safety Car conditions on his way into the pits. Red Bull relieved by Sergio Perez penalty loophole The Mexican then picked up another penalty for colliding with Kevin Magnussen at the hairpin, yet retired from the race before serving his punishment. With F1 rules allowing unserved penalties to be converted into grid drops at the next race, Lap 40 saw Perez return to the track almost an hour after he initially retired to serve his five-second … [Read more...] about Red Bull reveal Max Verstappen preference behind Sergio Perez penalty serve

Alex Albon can see where Christian Horner is coming from by once saying he was almost “too nice” to race for Red Bull, Albon suggesting that was a symptom of youth. Albon’s rise was a meteoric one in the Red Bull ranks, as just half a season after his recall to the programme to join Toro Rosso for 2019, he was sent to the main Red Bull team to partner Max Verstappen following the struggles of Pierre Gasly. By the end of the 2020 campaign Albon though found himself dropped from the second Red Bull seat after similar difficulties against Verstappen, spending 2021 as Red Bull’s reserve driver before joining Williams for the following season, where he has now established himself as one of the hottest prospects on the grid. Alex Albon felt Red Bull call came too early Speaking to Sky F1, their pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz told Albon that when news came through of his Red Bull promotion back in 2019, he had his doubts over whether it was the right move at the time. Albon said he … [Read more...] about Alex Albon responds to Christian Horner saying he was ‘too nice’ for Red Bull seat

Lewis Hamilton expects Red Bull will re-establish their 30-second margin over the pack in Japan, and if they do not, then something really is going on. Despite struggling throughout Friday practice last time out in Singapore, few believed that Red Bull, who had claimed all 14 grand prix wins up to that point in F1 2023, were genuinely in trouble. That was confirmed though with a double elimination in Q2, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz going on to become the first non-Red Bull race winner of the season. Lewis Hamilton expects Red Bull 30 seconds clear at Suzuka Red Bull then are the major talking point as Formula 1 heads for Suzuka, home of the Japanese Grand Prix, where we will find out whether Singapore was a shock blip for Red Bull, or whether something truly has changed to knock Red Bull off their perch. The team consistently denied suggestions that the pair of FIA technical directives introduced for Singapore, designed to combat flexible bodywork and floors, had any … [Read more...] about Lewis Hamilton details scenario which would confirm ‘something’s up’ with Red Bull

Max Verstappen issued a clear opinion that anyone who welcomed the end of Red Bull’s winning streak in Singapore is not a “real fan”. With Verstappen having set a new Formula 1 benchmark with a remarkable 10 grand prix wins in a row, while his Red Bull team reeled off 15 on the trot, it was looking like nobody would find an answer to stop this irresistible force in F1 2023. Then Singapore happened. Shock one-lap struggles for Red Bull, causing Verstappen and Sergio Perez to be eliminated in Q2, left Verstappen with too much damage to undo in the race, with the timing of the Safety Car also not helping his cause, as Verstappen was forced to settle for P5 and Perez P8 as both winning streaks came to an end. Max Verstappen hits out at “not real fans” Red Bull’s absence left a four-way battle for the victory, with Carlos Sainz, Lando Norris, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton all scrapping for the win in a thrilling conclusion to the Singapore Grand Prix, with Sainz claiming … [Read more...] about Max Verstappen hits back with ‘not real fans’ claim after Red Bull streak snapped

Anthony Davidson said races earlier in the 2023 season had hinted that Red Bull might struggle in Singapore, as was borne out… The first race of 2023 that Red Bull failed to win was last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, with the RB19 looking like a midfield machine rather than the all-conquering monster it had been for the first two-thirds of the season. With Christian Horner refuting that the newly-introduced TD018 had had any effect on the car’s competitiveness, the team boss suggested that Red Bull had simply not been able to get their car into the correct operating window that would allow them to exploit their usual pace. Anthony Davidson: There were warning signs for Red Bull earlier in the year With Singapore’s Marina Bay singled out by Red Bull as a potential stumbling block to their quest to win every race in 2023, the weekend indeed proved to be their undoing as Max Verstappen raced to fifth place from his 11th-place grid slot, while Sergio Perez managed eighth from … [Read more...] about The Red Bull warning signs ‘we should have picked up’ on pre-Singapore

How would Sergio Perez be faring if he didn’t have to worry about Max Verstappen as his teammate at Red Bull? While Sergio Perez is ending the 2023 season on something of a low note having spent most of the year struggling for consistent form alongside Max Verstappen, the Mexican driver’s success – and reputation – would have been very, very different without his teammate alongside. Removing Verstappen, and turning Red Bull into a one-car team, would still have resulted in outright title success for Red Bull and Perez, according to Christian Horner. Christian Horner: Sergio Perez would have won the titles for Red Bull Speaking to media after Verstappen’s dominant win at Suzuka, which wrapped up the Constructors’ Championship for Red Bull for a sixth time, Horner was asked whether or not the team could have won the championship with just one car. Verstappen’s 400 points massively eclipses Mercedes’ current 305-point score, meaning the Dutch driver would still be keeping Red … [Read more...] about Red Bull predict what Sergio Perez would achieve without Max Verstappen

Lewis Hamilton believes that should Red Bull fail to dominate in Japan, then ‘something is up’ with the RB19… After spending the season watching on as Red Bull claimed win after win, the sudden halt to their dominance at last weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix has raised eyebrows up and down the grid, as it coincided with the introduction of a Technical Directive from the FIA. But Singapore’s idiosyncratic layout and demands mean it’s possible that Red Bull were simply caught out by not getting their car into the right window – an excuse they can’t lean on this weekend at Suzuka. Why might Red Bull have struggled in Singapore? Right from the get-go on Friday in Singapore, it was evident that the RB19 wasn’t in a particularly happy place. Both Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez struggled throughout the weekend, particularly for single-lap pace. Added to their woes were some operational blunders that resulted in Verstappen being involved in multiple investigations after qualifying – … [Read more...] about Will Lewis Hamilton’s suspicions about Red Bull’s performance play out?

Red Bull are keeping an eye on Lando Norris, but Christian Horner says that’s in the same way they pay attention to every one of today’s talented drivers. With Sergio Perez failing to fire this season and Norris emerging as one of the stars, the McLaren driver has been linked by Formula 1’s rumour mill to a move to Red Bull. It’s even been suggested, by Nico Rosberg that is, that the move could happen next season. Could Lando Norris be a candidate for a Red Bull seat? Red Bull have quashed that with the team insisting Perez will hold onto his race seat for another season while Helmut Marko spoke of Norris’ “unfortunately long” contract with McLaren that runs through to the end of the 2025 season. But he added to Servus TV: “He is definitely a candidate for us. In terms of youth and speed, he would suit us very well.” Red Bull, though, have since put a star of their own on the track with Liam Lawson impressing the team as he filled in for Daniel Ricciardo, and recorded … [Read more...] about Christian Horner delivers major update on Red Bull’s potential Lando Norris pursuit

Adrian Newey spoke of how Red Bull stuck with “gut feeling” that their concept was the right path versus Mercedes, and how right they were. Red Bull and Mercedes went in totally different directions with their take on the new regulations introduced for F1 2022, and when Mercedes first unveiled their unique ‘zero pod’ concept, alarm bells were ringing over what this could mean for their performance versus the pack. As it turned out though, Red Bull are the team that got it right, refining their approach through 2022 and into F1 2023 to become the dominant force of the Formula 1 grid. Adrian Newey details Red Bull development path Asked during the Beyond the Grid podcast what Red Bull got so right about these regulations to create such an advantage, Newey joked: “I can’t tell you that, Can I?” Newey though did delve into some details on their current dominating performance, explaining how nailing the regulations early has allowed F1 2023’s RB19 to be a “very close evolution” … [Read more...] about How Red Bull went away from ‘polar opposite’ Mercedes to master regulations