Red Bull team lives one of its best moments in the team’s history since it has a luxury line-up of drivers.
Max Verstappen established himself as the best driver in the world by winning two consecutive world titles. The driver has won 15 of the 22 races held in 2022 and had memorable races where he managed to make a podium finish starting from the middle of the grid.
As if that were not enough, Red Bull team also has Checo Perez, a driver who has earned a name for himself with his outstanding performance.
Perez finished third in the world championship, and his experience and competitiveness are a force to be feared throughout Formula 1.
The relationship between the drivers
The problem facing Red Bull is that there is no good relationship between its drivers. The incident in Interlagos was the straw that broke the camel’s back, distancing Max and Checho.
Max disobeyed his team in Brazil and did not want to help Checo, who was competing to be runner-up and in the long run, this incident would end up having an impact that led to the pilot failing to get the achievement.
The criticism for Max was harsh. For example, former champion Mika Hakkinen said.
“The team always comes first, and if you have an agreement on how you and your teammate have to work together, it’s always best to stick to it. None of us know the precise terms of Max’s deal with Red Bull, but clearly, he is the number 1 driver, and in return, he has brought them two world titles;
Checo has been a great help to Max at times though, and together they have won the teams championship this year, so it would be nice to see Max help Sergio to finish second in the Drivers’
Championship. Particularly now that Sergio and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc are on equal footing.
Christian Horner has confirmed that they discussed the situation, shook hands, and are focusing on helping Sergio finish second in Abu Dhabi”.
After all the controversy, Checho Perez would be the one who would try to leave everything in the past with a diplomatic message shared on social networks.
“Everything has been discussed with Max and the team, and this issue will remain internally; this is behind us, and we will continue working as the great team we have been up to now.”
A third wheel
But things seem to get complicated at Red Bull with the return of Daniel Riccardo.
Ricciardo returns to what was his house before embarking on the dull periods with Renault and McLaren. The Australian arrives with the reserve driver role, but not everyone is convinced.
Although the Australian has not had good seasons, he is still a top-level driver who aspires to be a starter in a team.
Some speculate that the arrival of Riccardo is a mechanism to put pressure on Checo so that he leaves the team at his will.
Helmut Marko has come out to deny that they have signed the Australian to increase the pressure on Pérez.
“Checo has shown that he can drive at a very high level. If at a given moment, Max doesn’t have the day, we know we have Sergio.
There’s a reason he’s won two races this year,” the team’s sports adviser told Servus TV.
On Riccardo’s role in the team, Marko has mentioned that it will be more of a marketing move, “You have to remember that we are a great team.
We even have the highest number of sponsors of all the teams.
That means we also have many commitments a year, Like car shows and appearances in the US. Who can do that better than Ricciardo with his smile, his ‘shoey,’ and I don’t know what else he has up his sleeve?”
Marko ended his statements by reinforcing the message that they are not trying to put pressure on the Mexican, “It’s good to have Ricciardo in case he ever has to replace a driver from our teams.
Then we will have a rider who we know will do well. But I repeat: It’s not that we want to put pressure on Sergio with this,” said the Red Bull team member.
It is known that Riccardo maintains excellent relations with Chris Horner, head of the Red Bull team, which increases speculation about his true role.