Max Verstappen will drive a Red Bull from the next F1 race in Spain after Daniil Kvyat was dropped by the team following his poor showing at his home grand prix.
Kvyat was penalised heavily by the stewards after crashing into Sebastian Vettel twice at the start of Sunday’s Russian Grand Prix. The collision also led to his team mate Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz Jnr of sister team Toro Rosso failing to score points.
“Max has proven to be an outstanding young talent,” said team principal Christian Horner. “His performance at Toro Rosso has been impressive so far and we are pleased to give him the opportunity to drive for Red Bull Racing.”
“We are in the unique position to have all four drivers across Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso under long term contracts with Red Bull, so we have the flexibility to move them between the two teams.”
“Dany will be able to continue his development at Toro Rosso, in a team that he is familiar with, giving him the chance to regain his form and show his potential.”
The news prompted a surprised reaction from McLaren driver Jenson Button. “Really?” he wrote on social media, “one bad race and Kyvat’s dropped, what about the podium in the previous race? Short memories.”
2016 Russian Grand Prix
- Red Bull bosses gave me “no explanation” – Kvyat
- Another weak race shows Sochi is the new Valencia
- Magnussen beats grand slam Rosberg for Driver of the Weekend
- Kvyat axed by Red Bull, Verstappen takes his place for Spain
- 2016 Russian Grand Prix team radio transcript
glacierre (@glacierre)
5th May 2016, 8:31
Wow, pure red bull style.
Retired (@jeff1s)
5th May 2016, 8:54
Boy, that escalated quickly.
a2k (@a2k85)
5th May 2016, 8:58
Damn Daniil!
hzh (@hzh00)
5th May 2016, 11:23
Hahahahahahaha
regs (@regs)
5th May 2016, 9:00
Not that quickly. He had tyre problems in all qualifications this year. So obviously now he was boycotted by a team.
Andrew (@andrewsf1)
5th May 2016, 12:43
@regs
I didn’t hear anything about that. Can you be more specific? Was is it something like not getting enough heat into the tyres like Raikkonen sometimes has with the fronts (in Sochi quali i think)?
regs (@regs)
5th May 2016, 16:06
First two races are quite obvious. In China he had to qualify on used tyres. In Russia team sent him too late on track, so there was no time for warm up lap.
zimkazimka (@zimkazimka)
5th May 2016, 9:14
Wow, I’m seechless.
This is beyond brutal. We all pretty much accepted that this mistake cost Kvyat his seat… for the next year! But dropping him after four races, one of which saw him on the podium and hailed driver of the day?! This is ruthless.
I don’t know how stong Kvyat is mentally, but things like that may destroy a person! There is just so much pressure on this guy now. He is forced to show that he is still capable after such a back-stab from his team, which in turn WILL lead to more mistakes. And under such scruitiny as right now, any mistakes will generate further hate for Danil. I’m affraid, this is it for him in F1.
Patrick (@paeschli)
5th May 2016, 12:14
I think the pressure Verstappen has is even higher, I’m fearing a Verstappen breakdown a lot more than a Kvyat breakdown.
MarkM
5th May 2016, 14:40
I disagree your reasoning for his move.
Max himself influenced this decision more then anything. What I mean is the team (Marco) have such high regard for the guy they can’t wait to move him up to the mother team. They were planning on doing this at the end of the year regardless of what happened in Sochi with Kyvat. Why? Because Max has a out from his contract if he doesn’t drive for Red Bull next year, so they didn’t want him snatched by another team.
Since Red Bull had such a high regard for Max, and from what happened in Sochi, it gave them, let’s call it an “opportunity” to play the “slap on the hand” card to Kvyat and do this move sooner rather then later.
Like, think about it, the guy gets a podium the last race and now has one bad race? Other motives were at play here and Kvyat gave them the tools to use that sooner rather then later. Its that simple.
DaveD (@daved)
6th May 2016, 0:41
Completely agree. Red Bull has knows for 2 years they were going to do this. Kvyat gave them an opening sooner than planned and they took it, it’s that simple. Marco and company want the young Max in their car as “the next great driver” and they did whatever it took to get him there.
72defender (@72defender)
6th May 2016, 12:49
Agreed!
Mr now it all
6th May 2016, 4:23
Red Bull has all driver data so Verstappen must stand out and be way better than the other two. His tiremanagement is so much better than Sainz which was obvious in Russia.
Woody (@woodyd91)
5th May 2016, 10:13
I personally think it’s the wrong time for VES to move up, not because I don’t think he can perform in the car, he clearly can. But mentally I don’t think he is there at the moment, he is extremely rough around the edges in his attitude and I don’t think he is grounded enough to handle it, that media inflated ego has already made an couple of appearances when it shouldn’t have. Can you imagine the repeat of Australia happening but with RIC as his team mate? It would have been a completely different story.
Time will tell but I fear that this is the wrong move for him and decisions he makes now will impact his career down the line.
duncan idaho
5th May 2016, 23:37
Maybe that’s the point, he’s less likely to get stuck battling RIC – if at any point the tyre/car differences are in VES favour, RIC would probably let him go (IMO if there are no differences, RIC would be up the road).
Adrian
6th May 2016, 0:10
I totally agree about Verstappen being a little rough around the edges, and probably a little immature in his attitude sometimes….. But consider Lewis Hamilton’s first few seasons with McLaren.. I’m a huge Lewis fan, but the words slightly unstable come to mind, particularly in those early years… still with Ron in charge, he seemed to do alright!
sunny stivala
5th May 2016, 12:11
one fast tracked hype job replaced with another with 10x the tantrums.
but contrary to many believes the red bullies has ruined more drivers careers than they made.
Excuse me :D (@square-route)
5th May 2016, 13:09
Too harsh.
On the lighter side, the Russian Grad Prix proved to be a bit interesting after all.
Tata
5th May 2016, 13:19
Redbull indeed don’t care what you think of them.
How can a team do everything to make sure no one likes them?
I am totally speechless.
Paul A (@paul-a)
6th May 2016, 0:10
Mr Mateschitz has, over the years, put hundreds of millions of dollars into F1. Maybe he’s turned a profit, but in any case he has the right to decide how his money is spent. This has always been the case in F1 — people who make the effort, make the decisions.
Kvyat really disappointed me at Sochi. His first collision with Vettel was perhaps an unfortunate “racing incident”, but to deliver the coup de grâce seconds later was perhaps psychologically understandable, but totally unacceptable.
I’m not talking “regulations and stewards” or even safety, just plain competitive sportsmanship which is (or was) the basis of F1. Bottom line, he’s lucky he’s still got a seat at Toro Rosso.
Solo (@solo)
14th July 2016, 12:18
Sportmaship? I think you obviously fail to realize the meaning of the word. Nothing Kvyat did was unsporting because it was not intentional.
Andy (@andycz)
5th May 2016, 8:33
When I finally at least try to like Red Bull they do something like this… I don’t understand. In China he was a hero, one mistake (yes it was big mistake, but who doesn’t do something like this?) and he is dropped… Poor Kvyat. I hope he will outperform Max this weekend.
Kamil (@krioru)
5th May 2016, 8:43
@andycz There’s no F1 weekend this weekend!
Andy (@andycz)
5th May 2016, 8:50
OK, this race weekend… Happy? :D
Rick (@)
5th May 2016, 8:50
As always, it’s not just this mistake. It was the drop the spilled the cup. I don’t think Kvyat deserves this harsh of a punishment, but on the other hand, I suspect Red Bull (as a whole) is trying out this as a new method.
In other words: if Verstappen fails to perform, he could be back to Toro Rosso (or get picked up by another team) in 2017 and Kvyat or Sainz next to Ricciardo. That way it doesn’t seem that harsh at all. However, for a driver (apart from Ricciardo) normally it would mean you’ve made progress, being promoted and now safe and sound in a top team. But now you only know you have to keep proving yourself, being judged for every mistake you make and risking being put back to TR.
Gabriel (@rethla)
5th May 2016, 9:01
As opposed to risk being out of F1?
Rick
5th May 2016, 9:54
Am I the only one who remembers the hole season? Outperformed big time by Ricciardo in every quali (8-18)(5-15)(2-6)(6-8)
Dumb misstakes in almost every race
Lucky podium in China. Ricciardo lead the race when he got a puncture, ferrari had chrashes, Hamilton lost his nose
and Max can only lose from now one, new team, new car and a much more experianced driver allong side him
Patrick (@paeschli)
5th May 2016, 12:16
It’s not one mistake, Kvyat has been horrible in 3 of the last four races. Meanwhile Verstappen has been supreme since the start of the season. It may be harsh, but it is completely justified.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
5th May 2016, 8:33
Wow.
Optimaximal (@optimaximal)
5th May 2016, 8:34
A terrible knee-jerk reaction from a reactionary figure that has completely binned one driver’s career (himself promoted too soon) and compromised another by dropping him into a top-level team whilst still green. Makes you wonder – what if his collision with SAI in Australia was actually him into RIC?
Poor Danil.
JCost (@jcost)
5th May 2016, 9:51
That is shocking. Max is great driver but they could well wait for the end of the season to make this move, I think Kvyat can actually be sacked from Toro Rosso by the end of the season if he’s outperformed by Sainz Jr. and it’s a real possibility.
Ronald
5th May 2016, 13:07
Well, if that is the case this blunt surprise move of Red Bull is quite justified. Let’s face it: Verstappen clearly got the upper hand over Sainz since halfway last year. If Kvyat is now outperformed by Sainz than it appears Kvyat is the “worst” driver of all 4, no need to keep him in the top team than…
Mike (@mike)
6th May 2016, 1:06
We all know that F1 isn’t that simple.
Solo (@solo)
14th July 2016, 12:24
Exactly. Kvyat has to learn a different car now mid season and probably learn new working environment despite being there two years ago since mechanics and methods won’t be completely the same.
Ves has the same but when you are young and enthusiastic and on the up you get bothered less, also i assume Red Bull will be all over him to help him adapt as well as possible. Kvyat will probably just be let alone to manage and his psychologically down after it too.
PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
5th May 2016, 8:37
Kvyat to Williams to replace Massa next year, you heard it here first.
soundscape (@)
5th May 2016, 8:50
I like this guy.
Cyber
5th May 2016, 11:25
No, it will be Button that replaces Massa at Williams, when Massa retires end of 2016.
Williams and Button has always had very good relations and Button would be perfect fit to them.
Think also that Button would enjoy to get back to Williams to end his F1 career with them to close the full circle.
Mike (@mike)
6th May 2016, 1:17
It’d certainly be a step up for Button in terms of machinery. If I was a massive Massa fan I’d want to see it.
But then again, 2017 is likely to be a dice roll.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
5th May 2016, 12:15
Felipinho Massa will replace Massa at Williams. He’s faster than Ricciardo, and as Max proves: if you’re fast enough, you’re old enough.
Felipe’s the new Riccardo Patrese at the team, still has a good few years left in him.
digitalrurouni
5th May 2016, 13:03
LOLOL! +10000
Jerejj
5th May 2016, 13:30
+1
Solo (@solo)
14th July 2016, 12:40
Probably not because they have to lose Bottas for that. For Massa they probably look for Button. Also they have that Lynn kid that they will want to promote if he goes well.
Mclaren is already finding hard to give Vandoorne a seat so they probably can’t take him ether.
Ferrari won’t take him because it takes established names and is risk avert. If they take Grosjean for Raikonnen’s position then Kvyat can have a nice talk with Haas. He will be quite a decent option for them actually. Not much better they can take if they lose Grosjean. Unless Massa losses to Button in Williams and ends up talking to Haas.
Then Kvyat chances go to hell there because a new team like that may like the experience guy to learn things from.
He can also talk to Renault if Palmer never seems to find his mojo BUT Renault has the other Russian guy now and he probably comes with good money too unlike Kvyat and they have no reason to believe that Kvyat will be a major upgrade over Magnussen that has similar cv.
Manor needs pay drivers.
Force India already has two decent drivers that know the team.
Sauber may not even be there and has no ability to take a non paying driver with big bucks.
So, ironically his other chance to keep driving in F1 is the Red Bull team(Haas is the other depending on Massa). What i mean? If Ferrari take Riccardo then Red Bull will have no choice to take Kvyat back to the big team if he doesn’t lose to Sainz. That is why they probably kept him at Torro Rosso. To see if his the better choice between him and Sainz to have as a spare in case they lose Riccardo.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
5th May 2016, 8:38
Pretty brutal.
No backsies.
Ross
5th May 2016, 8:52
I don’t often lol, but to this I totally lol’d.
Brutal, but that’s business. He’s not out on his ass, still has a seat, still racing.
theysuck
5th May 2016, 14:24
Well they cheated him, he has a contract with says he is official driver of RedBull, but because RedBull has 2 teams, they cheated him and can change team without further notification. I think f1 should really ban this, because they said they were 2 independent teams and bla bla bla, and now they can change drivers after 3 races? This shouldnt be allowed, no swaping if teams are independent, each team its drivers. If u have 2 teams this doesnt mean fair competition.
Ross
5th May 2016, 21:26
They didn’t cheat him, they horizontally readjusted their driver platform.
More bans, that’s exactly what F1 needs. He screwed up, he’s out, this isn’t the minor leagues, this is the pinnacle of motorsport. If Verstappen turns into the world beater people would have you believe, then golden move by RB, if not then Kyvat is still around, or Sainz gets a role. A driver is a component of the car, they spend millions squeezing 10th’s out of a lap time, why should they settle for a lesser driver.
Mike (@mike)
6th May 2016, 1:20
“they horizontally readjusted their driver platform.”
What’s the difference between that and swapping teams?
Ross
6th May 2016, 2:51
Nothing. That’s the point.
Clay
5th May 2016, 23:54
Benetton did the same thing with Moreno back in 1991, swapping him to a customer ford team for some young guy. Forget his name.
Actually no I don’t.
It’s F1. Kvyat is no Ricciardo so if you have a fast kid why not promote him? And to be honest if red bull own two teams can’t they do whatever they want with their drivers?
Fixy (@)
5th May 2016, 9:15
And how many races does Verstappen expect wipl be given to him to show he deserves that Red Bull? How long till we see Sainz in that car, or Kvyat again?
Fixy (@)
5th May 2016, 9:16
*will be given*
Optimaximal (@optimaximal)
5th May 2016, 10:56
We won’t see either in the Red Bull seat unless RIC moves on. Horner and Marko have proven unable to competently manage two cocks (as in the bird) at the same time – if Vestappen works, they’ve got their Vettel Mk2 that they’ll ‘build the team around’ (to the detriment of Ricciardo, Sainz Jr and the rest, until Vestappen later moves on and the carousel starts again). If he doesn’t work, they’ll likely jettison him and Kvyat and promote more talent from below to save face.
They still look like chumps in my eyes after Vettel cut & run and they picked Kvyat for RBR rather than the more experienced JEV (which they only did because they’d served the latter his notice and didn’t want to do the mea culpa).
mateuss (@mateuss)
5th May 2016, 9:32
It is quite brutal, but completely logical. Red Bull are looking for the second Vettel or better. They want to be in that position ASAP, 2017 preferably, we saw how impatient they were when they were not in a position to win races and championships. Also, let’s not forget, that Russia was not the only time even this year when Kvyat cracked under pressure. I see in him what I saw in Webber after the 2010 Australian GP, someone who is very talented and will win races, but will never win the F1 championship and will crack under pressure. This decision might have also been avoided had RBR went for the clear number 1 and number 2 driver philosophy, but the problem with that is that Riccardo has not exactly dominanted Kvyat, and that shows maybe they can do better than Ricardo and so they had to go for Ves. The embarrassment of the last GP was a catalyst and excuse for something that had started to develop well before the RUS GP.
Not sure what the reasoning was for them, but this is how I saw it.
And it’s not like Kvyat is now jobless and homeless, he still has a very good F1 seat, he has an other opportunity to prove himself or improve and showcase himself to find an other seat in F1 or elsewhere.
Sam (@crunch)
5th May 2016, 10:30
@mateuss Respectfully, I don’t know how you can say those things.
I don’t believe that RBR are overly concerned with producing another Vettel. They have one in Ricciardo currently in the stable. He is very capable of winning a championship in a competitive Red Bull.
I agree with others in the comments section; this is about holding onto Verstappen and making sure he doesn’t leave teams. We do not currently know what the situation is, but it’s possible that Verstappen and his backers wanted him to move up to the top team earlier rather than later while Kvyat is in a bad form.
I also disagree with you (respectfully) about Kvyat and his job. His career in F1 is finished. He will never be picked up a top team ever again. Top teams are reserved for proven drivers, and he hasn’t cut it in the world of F1, as fair or unfair as it is.
markp
5th May 2016, 11:08
I don’t think they are sure about Ricciardo, they cannot be until he has a chance to win a title and takes it, thus far he has not had the chance and it is unknown if he can. Lets see what Verstappen does.
x303 (@x303)
5th May 2016, 12:08
Seems brutal but I don’t understand all the crying.
Red Bull has messed with their drivers in the past a lot, and it’s not the first they’d crushed a promising career (remember Alguersuari? promoted in the middle of the season to TR with next to no preparation, and fired from the same team after a very good year).
They’re not fighting for championships and Verstappen seems a more promising lot than Kvyat in the long run. Add to that they need to secure Verstappen contract extension’s and it all makes sense.
Red Bull don’t want to be in F1, they want to win. They were vocal about Renault to get a better engine. They now demote Kvyat to secure Verstappen’s future services. They’ve always acted this way, fairness to drivers as nothing to do here.
Mike (@mike)
6th May 2016, 1:24
Alguersuari was harsh…
… Frankly, I hate the Red Bull attitude. It’s not better than other manufacturers who will leave if they don’t get success.
Williams, Sauber, Mclaren, Ferrari. Those are the foundations of F1.
brum
6th May 2016, 6:56
Brutal but unless Red-Bull produce a car comfortably faster than their rivals like between 2010-2013 than they need the best drivers available to maximise the cars results. In Riccardio they have one potential superstar who trounced Vettel in 2014 and Kyvat clearly does not have the speed or consistency of either Riccardio but Max potentially does.
The one really interesting issue is if Max continues to act like a baby now he is in the big boy car – how long will Red-Bull put up with his tantrums.
A fan
5th May 2016, 8:38
Is it only for Spain or for the rest of the season?
Mateusz Nowacki (@powerglove)
5th May 2016, 11:20
From words what Tost says… most likely till the end of 2016.
Pim
6th May 2016, 11:39
Rumours are Verstappen also signed a new contract till the end of 2019.
sunny stivala
5th May 2016, 15:49
on twitter a big brawl between the Verstappen’s and Tost is being reported as having happened.
mickey18 (@mickey18)
5th May 2016, 8:39
That was quick. Man everything Verstappen touches turns to gold doesn’t it?
I feel bad for Kvyat but to be honest I’m really starting to think he’s not on Ricciardo’s level. Keeping in mind he is much younger (although should we be talking about age in these circumstances).
Hope Kvyat gets another chance but that what a fight we are going to have at Red Bull in Spain!
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
5th May 2016, 8:45
From Hero to fighting for his future in f1, who could of possibly thought this watching kvyat on the podium in china in..driver of the day…wonder how Putin feels about it
Kamil (@krioru)
5th May 2016, 8:48
Russia’s president doesn’t care about F1 and Kvyat at all. Kvyat lived his whole life in Italy and can’t be called a Russian.
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
5th May 2016, 8:51
Putin like all pollies does care about this!!
Kamil (@krioru)
5th May 2016, 10:56
Not about some italian guy with russian passport!
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
5th May 2016, 11:07
OMG the bloke is a Russian as vodka!!!
Kamil (@krioru)
5th May 2016, 11:45
Vodka is not Russian, it’s Polish. FAIL
Jerejj
5th May 2016, 13:35
@Kamil ”Kvyat lived his whole life in Italy” – Wrong, as far as I know he (along with his family) moved to Italy in his early teens (at the age of 12 or 13 something like that).
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
5th May 2016, 13:56
Nob!!
Mike (@mike)
6th May 2016, 1:32
This is a friendly site for people who love F1.
Man United_Vettel (@siegfreyco)
5th May 2016, 8:46
That was brutal. Even if I was angry because he ended Vettel’s race. He doesn’t deserve this for one mistake
Sander (@)
5th May 2016, 8:58
Surely this is not based on one mistake…
Man United_Vettel (@siegfreyco)
5th May 2016, 12:19
Sorry for that. I think it’s to keep verstappen too
Kevin (@illustrious)
5th May 2016, 8:42
I’m pretty sure there was a clause in the Red Bull contract which stated that under no circumstances are you to hit a former driver of the team. Three times no less in the space of two races.
Optimaximal (@optimaximal)
5th May 2016, 8:47
@illustrious He didn’t hit Vettel – he just happened to pass him on a corner. Vettel over-reacted, first by hitting Kimi then secondly by shouting in the room of awkwardness.
Optimaximal (@optimaximal)
5th May 2016, 8:48
* in China
duncan idaho
6th May 2016, 0:11
Maybe it’s long term strategy for the post Tifoso period.
Mike (@mike)
6th May 2016, 1:33
He hit Ric?
Will Wood (@willwood)
5th May 2016, 8:45
Red Bull giveth, Red Bull taketh away.
I am more disappointed for Kvyat than I am concerned about whether it’s too early for Verstappen to be promoted. I have no doubts about Verstappen’s readiness, or his ability to drive for a ‘top’ team such as Red Bull. He will do a very good job – I am sure.
However, to have made such a move like this feels wrong. It’s almost as if the team were secretly hoping for an ‘excuse’ to promote Verstappen at the expense of Kvyat and I don’t believe it’s at all justified to have booted Daniil out of the ‘A-team’ already.
Yes, Kyvat made two big errors in two corners in Russia. He deserved his criticism and he deserved to be given a stern talking to by the team, but did he really deserve to lose his seat over this? Especially after a Driver of the Day winning performance in China that resulted in a podium? I don’t believe so.
It’s obvious that Max is an outstanding talent. The fact he is so young means he will undoubtedly continue to grow as a driver and his skill ceiling is likely to be incredibly high. I am concerned about his temperament and maturity after his outbursts in Melbourne. I hope he does well in this new opportunity, but I fear that if his confidence turns to arrogance, he might well find himself turning heel in the eyes of many fans.
evered7 (@evered7)
5th May 2016, 8:48
Especially after a Driver of the Day winning performance in China that resulted in a podium?
The RB had the pace in China. His was a lucky podium out of a move that was borderline. He tried rushing in again and torpedoed Vettel.
I think the bosses know more than us fans who watch the show on TV.
dirgegirl (@dirgegirl)
5th May 2016, 13:17
Yes, hence the amazing decision making of the Strategy Group.
Mike (@mike)
6th May 2016, 1:36
Brutal. XD
Evans
5th May 2016, 17:41
The team did not believe that Kvyat did a great job in China
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
5th May 2016, 8:48
YEs!!! I agree Will he has been lucky with some clumsy moves this year and needs to Mature big time.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
5th May 2016, 9:34
If anything @willwood, you would say that being promoted to a championship-winning team at the start of his second season would only make Max more arrogant, although given Kvyat’s drives in Bahrain and China he cannot say he has got the seat because Kvyat has been underperforming. You also fear that the marketability of the teenage sensation versus an archetypal brusk Russian has been a factor.
I think this in-season swap is an unnecessarily corrosive gambit. STR are now fielding a driver that has been deposed and a driver that has been overlooked. And given that Marko has now made his thoughts on Kvyat clear, how long will it be before Gasly is in that STR seat? What happens if Ricciardo goes to Ferrari? Would they consider promoting Daniil again? I just looks to be a hurried and generally unnecessary decision.
Optimaximal (@optimaximal)
5th May 2016, 11:05
@william-brierty What, like the first time they promoted Danil too early, rather than do the right thing and promote JEV (who they’d already issued a P45 to)?
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
5th May 2016, 11:34
@optimaximal I think Sainz and Verstappen have done a good job of justifying JEV’s P45, but yeah, it is feasible that Jean could have done a splendid job at Red Bull alongside Ricciardo (who he was more than a match for at STR), and with an extra season in the junior formulas, Verstappen could have been promoted to STR in place of the loser of Kvyat vs Sainz. At least McLaren now have a rival for the title of “Most Mismanagemed Junior Programme”.
Ronald (@mosquito)
5th May 2016, 13:27
Why is that: for making choices among their juniors? At least they choose. I don’t have a clue why other teams have Junior programmes given the fact hardly any of them ever make it to their team anyway.
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
6th May 2016, 11:03
@mosquito – It is largely because Marko tends to form partisan objections/alliances towards drivers. JEV, for example, fell victim to Marko’s enmity, so whilst he could have ascended to Red Bull alongside Ricciardo and be doing an excellent job (on the basis of how well he compared to Daniel at Toro Rosso), he is testing anonymously for Ferrari. His stance on Mark Webber is well-documented, and even pursued a corrosive, adversarial line even when Mark was comparing well to Vettel in the first two years of their partnership.
It is especially intriguing that Marko ramped up his anti-Webber rhetoric whilst Mark was edging Seb on pure performance in the 2010 season. By contrast, Verstappen has received perhaps the most outstanding team endorsement in F1 history, with Max’s preliminary F3 contact with Red Bull having morphed into a topline factory drive in much less than two years. Of course, both Verstappen and Vettel have backed themselves up with stunning on-track performances, but was JEV not performing? Was Kvyat not performing? Has Sainz, who has never received anything like Verstappen’s backing from Marko (and was effectively on the scrapheap before Vettel’s exit to Ferrari freed up a seat), not been performing?
Unfortunately, there is not a fully linear relationship between Marko’s opinion of a driver and how well that driver is performing.
GeeMac (@geemac)
5th May 2016, 11:51
@willwood @william-brierty I have to agree, this is going to make Max more arrogant, not less. He has faced literally no adversity in his rapid parachuting through the ranks. Now he is in a Red Bull that is not quite a race winner he will be expected to perform, if not immediately, certainly by the end of this season and definitely in the next. If things don’t go his way he will have to start facing pressure and criticism the likes of which he has never faced which will probably result in yet more radio outbursts (which will probably make what we saw in Melbourne will look like a Sunday School picnic in comparison).
WilliamB (@william-brierty)
5th May 2016, 12:32
@geemac Like young Schumi, he has the potential to be quite a divisive character. He knows he’s as good as they come – he’s gone from a karter to topline F1 in just over two years – and I think this can lead him to look for fault in others when things go wrong. Ricciardo however, is an especially good tutor in getting the balance right between self-confidence and arrogance. I’m sure Max will be fine – unlike every other racing driver in history he certainly doesn’t need to worry about ever getting the opportunity to win a championship.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
5th May 2016, 10:18
@willwood Pro wrestling reference lol :D
Is Hamilton a heel, I wonder?
Optimaximal (@optimaximal)
5th May 2016, 11:06
@wsrgo I don’t care for wrassling but Hamilton couldn’t be less of a stage-managed heel if he tried. Given he owns most of the records he’s eligible for, he just wants to win races.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
5th May 2016, 17:02
@optimaximal But he’s still so widely hated, and loved. John Cena-esque :P
jack (@jackobite)
5th May 2016, 8:45
The torpedo is dead!
All hail the new king Max,
Knee jerk reaction typical of Red Bull,
I wont miss DK much but I did roar out the biggest laugh when he smacked Seb up the rear for the second time.
evered7 (@evered7)
5th May 2016, 8:45
Beautiful! Hope Max grasps the opportunity and makes Kvyat stay put at STR.
RBR have shown themselves to be ruthless. Results or nothing. A lucky podium isn’t going to overshadow his poor performance this year.
Jack (@jmc200)
5th May 2016, 8:47
The guy just got a podium!? This is madness, hugely unfair.
Jerejj
5th May 2016, 13:36
+1
Spawinte (@spawinte)
5th May 2016, 8:48
This is pretty disgusting. Vettel is going to catch backlash for this too, remember his trip to the RB pit wall.
Also can’t wait for the endless twitter virtue signalling from the middle England F1 press corp as if there wasn’t enough of that over the Mercedes thing. :rolleyes:
lockup (@)
5th May 2016, 9:34
I reckon Vettel deserves some backlash, personally. He completely overreacted in China to save his own skin, and now did something a bit similar after having a huge lift in a very foolish place instead of just going round the outside of Perez like Verstapppen – who shot past looking like he’d have struggled to slow in time too.
Then as you say the word with Horner that looks a bit vindictive now.
I remember a young Seb apologising after colliding with Kubica in Oz 2009, and regretting it when he found that attracted the blame onto himself. He learned that lesson a bit too well, it seems.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
5th May 2016, 10:19
@lockup Vettek slowed because he picked up a puncture after the first collision.
Mashiat (@mashiat)
5th May 2016, 10:29
@wsrgo No he didn’t. He was just checking to see how the car would handle, and so lifted off mid-corner in a flat out quick, long left-hander on the racing line with cars right behind him.
reh1v2.0 (@reh1v2-0)
6th May 2016, 8:06
“He was just checking to see how the car would handle”
+1
Vettel said that in an interview after the crash. And the car is likely to be damaged
due to a collision in the first corner.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
6th May 2016, 9:21
I haven’t won as many championships as Sebastian, but may I suggest that wasn’t the brightest thing he’s ever done in a racing car.
That’s the kind of action that should be earning reprimands – maybe Lewis should get onto this case – at least he would get some attention.
lockup (@)
5th May 2016, 10:39
Well he matched or beat Kvyat for traction out of T2 @wsrgo, which he could not have done without 2 fully inflated rear tyres. They looked fine on Kyvat’s onboard too. Did the team say he had a puncture?
Andrew (@andrewsf1)
5th May 2016, 12:55
@lockup @wsrgo @mashiat
I think Vettel lifted because he thought Perez was about to lose his rear and slide. He wasn’t sure which way so he tried to give himself room to react. Remember how Grosjean lost control there one year