I think there are some minimum expectations from a teammate. For one, if you have the best car or second best car, you should be able to qualify inside the top 10 every race. Perez and Stroll seem to struggle with that simple task. We know Charles is the better driver, yet currently Sainz is still ahead on points.
I know the point of William. It is always the 'degree' of difference. Did anyone defend Bottas as he went backwards in so many cases. Eventually his degree of difference became an ROI issue for Mercedes. It is going to be for RedBull as well if Checo persists on his current path.
William, Stroll has been slower than Massa, Perez, Vettel and now Alonso.....rinse and repeat. He is costing AMRF1 valuable points for 2023 in the 2nd fastest car on the grid. IF Ferrari have figured out their issues, and that's a big IF, AMRF1 will fall to 4th place on the WCC standings during the end of the season....all because of Stroll.
Forget about Stroll, it's a different matter. So for you, because Perez failed to reach Q3 a few times, Red Bull should bench him and look for replacement. I could remind you that no points are allocated in qualifs, so no harm done. It just make it harder to get to the front. For your information, Perez won 2 GPs in 2020, and finished 3rd in the WDC. This year, so far he has won 2 GPs and stands 2nd in the ranking. C But if you consider that's bad enough to sack him, I wonder who you think would do better alongside Max. I don't understand you guys, I really don't. Red Bull tried enough different partners for Verstappen, and Perez looks best suited for that role. But that do not please the armchair critics. Please, give me a break !!!
There's no doubt in my mind that Perez should do better. He's dropped the ball significantly in both Spain and Monaco. I'll excuse Canada because the conditions where so tricky in quali, though I will say that he should've been capable of putting a decent banker lap in at least. Max scything through the field as he's shown on so many occasions in the years isn't as easy as he makes it look like. Even on street tracks this year he had no problem going from 15th to 2nd or 9th to first. Perez not making the podium on the tracks where it's easy to overtake on when he's qualified poorly (let's forget Monaco) shows it all. Who should RB throw in the car? Ricciardo walked the moment Max adjusted his style and was beating him like no tomorrow. Gasly was highly rated by many. Utterly destroyed in half a season to a point he's still not recovered from. Albon, sore case for me as I'm a huge fan. Also beaten like no tomorrow despite him being highly rated as well. Thankfully he's recovered. I do hope he can come back for a re-try. Perez. Extremely experienced, Very good on his day. Being demolished. Red Bull tried hiring Norris before. Didn't bite. Leclerc hasn't shown any interest. Lewis wants to either sign with Mercedes, Ferrari or go to Hollywood. Alonso on a long term contract (and twice they tried to sign him, 2010 and 2019) You're quite right in asking "who can they sign that does a better job?" Because I'm struggling. I'd like Ricciardo just to see him back again, but will he be pre-2018 form or 2022 Mclaren form....I'd like to see Hulk, but no better than Perez. Leclerc? I'd love to see it happen but it's an enormous risk for Leclerc. If he gets beaten that's effectively his career over. It's a lot like the Schumacher problem and teams got accused for hiring a string of weaklings alongside him to make him look better..forgetting that these ''weaklings'' where highly rated before they where his teammates and their careers in tatters after.
What is Lawrence Strolls purpose for being in F1? To Win? Obviously that is not the case regarding having his son in an F1 seat. Yes, it's his money and he can do as he pleases but eventually his sponsors and his financial backers are going to question, if they haven't already, his motives regarding his son in an F1 seat. They will eventually leave if things don't change soon....I would IF I had the money to back Lawrence Strolls endeavors and talk to him about his son in an F1 seat. I want more return for my investment and I am not getting it on the track. Just my opinion.
I said no such thing. I think Perez has earned his role at Red Bull and should keep his seat. The danger for him is Ricciardo is sitting on the bench, so if Perez falls to 3rd in the championship with this year's car, then I could see the team potentially getting the boot. Red Bull is an unforgiving team. Just a correction, Perez won 1 race in 2020. One of his wins this year did come because of Max having misfortune. I still think he is overrated based on how the masses seem to rank him. I think he is performing very poorly lately, but I absolutely do not think he should be replaced yet.
I didn't know Alonso was offered to go to RBR. Oh what could have been for Fernando. A very huge what if scenario, but Alonso very likely wins 4 straight championships just as Vettel did, and could very likely have been offered a deal with Ferrari just as Vettel did in 2015. Alonso likely beats out Hamilton in 2017, and has a shot in 2018. 7x time Alonso probably gets ranked as the GOAT by a lot of people.
All of the above is good stuff, and I'd add this: it is most likely a two-horse race IF Perez gets moved. DR, of course. And I think the candidate you've missed: Yuki. I'm not sure Yuki wouldn't get the nod over Daniel in this instance, based solely on his occasional turns of speed in the Alpha Tauri. I do, however, think RB looks at them both and thinks: we prefer a more mature approach from our drivers. Daniel is pretty much a clown now. And Yuki, well, between not wanting to train and cursing the air blue in the car, I can see RBR thinking "not up to our professional standards".
Well, here you are then ! There isn't many drivers who could take the 2nd seat at Red Bull, and immediatly shadow Max as it is expected. It's just not realistic. "You don't change horse in the middle of the river." Red Bull should support Checo til the end of his contract, and still be on the look out for a replacement if he doesn't improve. But it won't be easy, nor should it be a knee jerk reaction half season. In the past, Red Bull has been very hasty with drivers change, and got nowhere. PS. I don't think any top driver (Hamilton, Russell, Leclerc) would want to go near Max at RB. Hulkenberg might, or Norris perhaps ? Maybe they should try Tsunoda? If he fails, it's a good excuse to get rid of him, now that Honda isn't in the picture anymore.
I agree. I don't think any top driver would want to be teammates with Max. I think Alonso might consider the challenge at this point in his career, but he wants to be #1 and thinks he should be #1, so I doubt even he would do it. Norris is probably the most likely, but he races against Max in the sim racing world and gets smashed and he openly admits Max is just too good. I feel he knows this would translate to real F1 as well.
I think, unfortunately, barring a scenario where Max has a noticeably inferior car, he is largely unbeatable over the course of an entire season... As long as Red Bull secures the WCC, it doesn't really matter who is in the other seat though.
Spot on !!! RB are so ahead with Max. Why experiment with a new driver when Checo is a compliant #2 ?
Horner indicated in the past he wasn't in favour of bringing Alonso in at Red Bull. He said: "He left trouble everywhere he went" .
Right. They're not in the business of getting someone to challenge Verstappen, or really even finish right behind him every race. They just need a reliable driver to consistently bag points. No need to play musical chairs with the second seat.
