Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has revealed the team will be “exploring options” when it comes to deciding on Max Verstappen’s team-mate beyond 2024. Despite winning two of the opening four races of F1 2023 in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, Sergio Perez’s seat has come under severe scrutiny after his season imploded with a run of five rounds without a Q3 appearance between Monaco and Silverstone. The Mexican’s contract is due to expire at the end of next season, with a number of drivers likely to be targeting the seat alongside Verstappen at Red Bull. Red Bull reveal ‘options’ to become Max Verstappen’s team-mate On the Saturday of the Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull junior team AlphaTauri announced that Daniel Ricciardo will remain alongside Yuki Tsunoda for 2024. Since returning to a full-time seat ahead of July’s Hungarian GP, Ricciardo has made no secret of his desire to reclaim the Red Bull seat he vacated at the end of the 2018 season. The Australian has been … [Read more...] about Red Bull ‘exploring options’ for Max Verstappen’s team-mate with 2024 drivers confirmed
Azerbaijan grand prix qualifying time
Will Ferrari hit back at scene of their last win? Six Austrian GP talking points
Formula 1 returns to Europe for a string of races across circuits that drivers and teams are all deeply familiar with. Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free To start, the sport travels to Austria and the Red Bull Ring in what is likely to be a happy homecoming for the Red Bull team who continue to dominate the sport. It is also the second sprint race weekend of the 2023 season as well as marking an unwelcome milestone for Ferrari. Here are the Talking Points for the Austrian Grand Prix. Ferrari’s year without wins Just 15 months ago, Ferrari ended their longest losing streak of the 21st century with a strong victory for Charles Leclerc in Bahrain to enter into Formula 1’s new ground-effect era in the best way possible. Two rounds later, Leclerc was on top of the podium again in Melbourne. It seemed as though Ferrari were destined to challenge for that year’s championship against Red Bull and firmly re-establish themselves as regular contenders for race … [Read more...] about Will Ferrari hit back at scene of their last win? Six Austrian GP talking points
Papa Perez reignited favouritism debate with claim Red Bull ‘built for Max to be a champion’
Sergio Perez’s father, Antonio Pérez Gariba, has reignited the favouritism debate as he claims the RB19 is “set” for Max Verstappen with Red Bull “built” for him to be champion. Although Perez came out of the blocks swinging this season, the Mexican driver winning two of the first four races to sit a mere six points behind Verstappen after Azerbaijan, what happened next is the stuff of sporting horror stories. Losing the Miami Grand Prix to the Dutchman despite starting on pole position to Verstappen’s P9, Perez’s form took a hit and he didn’t even once make it into Q3 in the next five race weekends. Sergio Perez was ‘hired for second place’ Only once recovering from a lowly grid slot to feature on the podium, his title dreams were in tatters by the time he was back into the top ten in qualifying at the British Grand Prix. But the impetus was all Verstappen’s and his 10-race winning streak completely destroyed Perez’s World Champion dream. With 400 points to his team-mates … [Read more...] about Papa Perez reignited favouritism debate with claim Red Bull ‘built for Max to be a champion’
Damon Hill: Red Bull ‘desperately want a bit more of a wingman’ for Max Verstappen
Damon Hill, the 1996 F1 World Champion, believes Red Bull are “desperate” to have a solid wingman alongside Max Verstappen after Sergio Perez’s struggles continued at the Japanese Grand Prix. Red Bull clinched the 2023 Constructors’ title at Suzuka as Verstappen stormed to his 13th victory of the season, yet it was a different story on the other side of the garage. After suffering front-wing damage in a start-line collision, Perez incurred two separate five-second penalties – the second for a late lunge on Kevin Magnussen’s Haas at the hairpin as he attempted to recover through the field – before retiring long before the chequered flag. Could Red Bull yet replace Sergio Perez for F1 2024? Despite winning two of the opening four races of 2023 in Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, Perez’s seat at Red Bull has come under severe scrutiny in recent months following a mid-season implosion – including a run of five rounds without a Q3 appearance between Monaco and Silverstone. Red Bull … [Read more...] about Damon Hill: Red Bull ‘desperately want a bit more of a wingman’ for Max Verstappen