Red Bull had a hard time settling with a driver to partner, Max Verstappen, once Daniel Ricciardo left the team at the end of the 2018 season. They first gave Pierre Gasly a shot, but the Frenchman was demoted back to the sister team Toro Rosso (now AlphaTauri) in the middle of the season.
He was replaced by his junior at the Red Bull academy Alex Albon. Though the Thai-born British race driver got a longer stint, he was also brought down to the reserve driver role in the team after the 2020 season ended.
Finally, the Milton-Keynes-based team settled with Sergio Perez and relished his services. However, the previous drivers getting dumped by Red Bull doesn’t reflect their abilities. In fact, the two drivers are still in F1 and are doing well for their respective teams.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has talked about why his team was unfair to him instead. He cites Perez’s experience on why it was wrong in the first place to expect wonders from both their former drivers.
Sergio Perez when asked how selfish he can be this year:
“Well, it depends. In the end teamwork it’s always important. But obviously if I see I don’t receive the support I need I won’t give my support either.” #F1 #Formula1 #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/w5izXLMuyA
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) March 2, 2023
Also read: Toto Wolff and Mercedes Hit With a Setback as McLaren Open Talks With Red Bull for Their Power Unit
Christian Horner admits Red Bull was unfair
Even Perez, who joined the team in 2021, had a tough time settling at Red Bull. But the team this time showed more patience, as the Mexican race driver started to drop better performances. Horner here admits that the decade-long experience Checo had in F1 was key.
“The key thing in the appointment of Checo was his experience,” said Horner. “It’s a bit unfair, perhaps, on the previous two guys to bring them in so soon. I think Checo, with that experience, he’s been through some of the hard knocks and so on with his career until that point.
Horner reasons Perez’s appointment for being someone with a good eye for car development. Also, he has been a good team player. On these two things, the 32-year-old is actually delivering.
Alex Albon empathized with Pierre Gasly after his first test
Albon, when he joined Red Bull in 2019, he had little time to settle in with Red Bull’s car. In his Players Tribune article, he revealed this during his first test. He was struck with horror as he found the car very unstable.
With that, he discovered that Red Bull made the car to Verstappen’s liking, and it was hard for other drivers to adapt to it. At that moment, he sympathised with Gasly and predicted his F1 career could go wrong.
P20 → P9 👏 @PierreGASLY #BahrainGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/sOxutDZcgw
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 5, 2023
In the end, both drivers managed to emerge from their adversaries. While Albon is going strong with Williams in his second year over there, Gasly has started his stint with Alpine.
Also read: 2009 F1 Champion To Make NASCAR Debut Alongside Kimi Raikkonen at COTA
