One characteristic of Red Bull is the constant turnover of drivers who are led to believe they have a chance in the Austrian team, only to be dropped in no time. This is what happened to Liam Lawson, who was not given much trust by Red Bull, and after two races, they decided to demote him back to VCARB.
Christian Horner’s team showed patience with Sergio Perez. The Mexican had shown some promise in his early seasons at Red Bull, but in 2024, he disappointed considerably. However, Red Bull decided to let him finish the season, an unusual move for the team given their treatment of Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon.
The swap impacts the teams
As mentioned, Liam Lawson will return to drive in VCARB, while Yuki Tsunoda has been promoted to Red Bull. However, it’s only the drivers who are changing teams: engineers and mechanics remain in their respective garages to work, and this frequent swapping of drivers could lead to difficulties for them.
Gianpiero Lambiase has a strong connection with Max Verstappen, having worked with him for nine years. The same cannot be said for Richard Wood, the British track engineer for Red Bull’s second car. In 2024, he replaced Hugh Bird, Perez’s former engineer, who was first relieved of his duties for parental leave and then changed roles: he currently works at Red Bull but stays at the Milton Keynes base.
Back to Wood. The Briton will take part in his eighth race as a track engineer in Japan, which will coincide with Yuki Tsunoda’s debut at Red Bull. Wood will thus have worked with three different drivers over just a few weekends.
This certainly adds difficulty to the Red Bull and VCARB garages. As we are seeing with Lewis Hamilton and Riccardo Adami at Ferrari, the bond between driver and engineer is built over time. This is what Red Bull lacks: the time to allow drivers to sync with the car and with their engineers.
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