Red Bull Racing has forever been an F1 team that believed in the philosophy of investing in young talent as opposed to poaching those in their prime driving years. Max Verstappen stands as a prime example of the philosophy as he heads into his ninth season in F1 while still only being 26. Of late, though, the team has stepped in another direction, bringing more experienced drivers such as Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez on board their team.
In a recent interview with Auto Motor and Sport, Verstappen shared his thought process if he had the chance to hire the Red Bull drivers. The Dutchman’s take was a concerning one for his best mate, Ricciardo, who is doing everything he can to ensure he retakes the Red Bull seat that Perez currently resides on.
Currently a driver with AlphaTauri, Ricciardo has shown signs of his old self when he was a relatively successful driver with Red Bull. With race wins eluding him at his current team, the Australian driver’s primary goal is to secure a Red Bull seat and get back to winning ways. However, pundits and experts believe the 34-year-old is too old for Red Bull to consider, given the team’s long-term goals.
With Lando Norris and/or Oscar Piastri in their lineup, the team will have the luxury of youth in their driver lineup. They get the opportunity to hone the drivers according to the team’s needs, given both of them are still in their early twenties. This is something experts say Ricciardo can not provide now.
With young drivers’ speed on offer, Red Bull can easily tap into the drivers’ potential and bring the best out of them, potentially even leading them to a world championship.
While Max Verstappen would want to bring him on board, Lando Norris warned about joining Red Bull
Following an exceptional 2023 season where he secured seven podiums and P6 in the drivers’ standings, Lando Norris stands as one of the most sought-after drivers on the current grid. As such, despite his contract still running with McLaren, the British driver is heavily linked with a move away from Woking and joining Red Bull soon.
Given the uncertainty around Perez’s future, it can be a potential move materializing as the Austrian team always wanted Norris. Helmut Marko even mentioned that Norris was the best young driver on the grid, and his demeanor would sit well with Red Bull.
However, British former driver Johnny Herbert read a cautionary tale for the 24-year-old, advising him not to join the Milton Keynes-based outfit. Given the strong position Norris finds himself in with McLaren, Herbert believes it is not “worth the risk” for him to make the switch.
The Woking-based team is on an upward trajectory, and Norris understands the McLaren car well enough to deliver great results when the car works well. Even Norris may feel so as if McLaren gets more competitive, his move to Red Bull will be perceived as impulsive. As such, Herbert doesn’t see “why he’d want to make his that little bit more difficult when he actually is in a very good position that he’s got at the moment.”
