The market never sleeps
It's time to great market maneuvers at Red Bull. Not just in the main team, where Sergio Perez seems increasingly closer to the possibility of a contract renewal which seemed very unlikely just a few months ago, but also in the 'new' Racing Bulls – the heir team of Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri – in which Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo.
The one who is in the eye of the storm is the Australian, who was beaten clearly and consistently in this championship start from Tsunoda. Only in qualifying for the Japanese GP did the former Renault and McLaren driver come close to the Japanese, but was still beaten by a handful of thousandths. Too little for those who had the aim of regaining their Red Bull seat by 2025.
Ocean derby
This was made clear, without making a show of particular diplomacy, by the historic consultant of the Milton Keynes team, Helmut Markowho essentially warned Ricciardo of the possibility – not even so remote – of coming replaced during the current season if the results on track continue to be far from those desired. “Ricciardo was expected to be significantly faster than Yuki to have any hope of getting a place at Red Bull – Marko commented to the Austrian site Kleine Zeitung – so far this hasn't been the case, even if, as I said, it was close. We'll see how the situation evolves“.
In the background there is the menacing shadow of Liam Lawson, a talented youngster from the Red Bull academy who already in 2023 replaced the Honey Badger for some races after the injury suffered by Ricciardo in Zandvoort. The very idea of putting the New Zealander back in the car seems to excite Marko quite a bit: “Lawson is obviously a strong driver and he will have the contractual right to drive for another team if he doesn't get a seat with us in 2025. For us of course it would be interesting to see him in Formula 1 this year to get an even clearer picture. But this is a complex issue, so we will have to see how the situation develops“, he concluded.
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