In the paddock, it’s starting to be called the “career killer.” It’s not just a cruel nickname — it’s based on results spanning over six seasons. In the last fifteen race weekends (the final five of 2024 and the nine held so far this season), the Red Bull driven by Max Verstappen has collected 220 points. The sister car, handled by Sergio Perez, Liam Lawson, and Yuki Tsunoda, hasn’t surpassed 9 points. Gaps between teammates have always existed in Formula 1, but in the modern era, such a performance difference between one driver and five different teammates is unprecedented.
Over six seasons, there have been only a few months when Red Bull enjoyed a balanced performance between its two cars. At the start of 2023, Perez and Verstappen split the wins over the first four races, then Max surged ahead with ten consecutive victories. For Checo, the collapse came twelve months later, ending the season eighth in the standings, while Verstappen secured his fourth title. The final gap between the two was a massive 242 points. Helmut Marko reacted by promoting Liam Lawson to the main team, a move that set a new negative record. In 2019, Pierre Gasly was demoted after twelve races; Lawson was after just two weekends.
Yuki Tsunoda’s arrival seemed to bring slight progress, but things quickly reverted to the usual pattern. After qualifying in Barcelona, Yuki’s last place — six tenths behind Verstappen — was yet another confirmation that Red Bull is on a risky path. Notably, after years of sharp criticism toward Verstappen’s teammates, Marko shifted his tone following the Barcelona weekend, stressing the need to give Tsunoda more time to adapt to the car.
Securing Verstappen’s talent was the coup of a lifetime for Marko. Without Max, Red Bull’s performance over the past decade would look very different. But relying on such extraordinary talent has also trapped the team in a system where they are effectively hostage to one driver. The engineers’ pursuit of performance has come at the expense of the car’s drivability — a flaw that Verstappen has masked in a way only he can. In reality, many of Max’s victories over the past 18 months have been built atop a car that still hides multiple issues under the surface.
Yuki Tsunoda’s promotion alongside Verstappen seemed more stable than the decision to fast-track Lawson, who had only about ten Grands Prix under his belt spread over two seasons. Yet again, nothing has changed. Yuki’s race pace has been decent on several occasions, but in qualifying, he remains far from Verstappen’s level. Tsunoda’s comments echo those of Lawson and Perez before him: the car’s reactions are unpredictable — reactions that Verstappen manages to control thanks to his talent and deep familiarity with the team. Being in Red Bull for ten years means he has absorbed every decision made by the team, learning to manage the car and build confidence step by step. Anyone arriving today in Milton Keynes faces an unfamiliar package they must adapt to in no time — a nearly impossible task, as Lawson experienced firsthand.
In the current landscape, Red Bull has become a “one-car team” — a team whose absolute performance rests solely on Verstappen. The consequences have already shown up in the Constructors’ standings, where last year the team finished third despite Max winning the drivers’ title. But the bigger risk for Milton Keynes is the future without Max. Regardless of what Verstappen chooses, Red Bull will need to start designing cars with a broader operating window than the current one — a narrow band that, in recent years, only Max’s talent has been able to master.
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