The 2023 season is seeing an untethered Max Verstappen who is blowing all the other cars away on the grid, including his teammate. With Verstappen in such fine form, Sergio Perez certainly wouldn’t be enjoying his time as the Dutchman’s teammate. However, history suggests it has never been easy to be partnered up with Verstappen. Addressing the same on The Race, Scott Mitchell-Malm pointed out how Verstappen played a key role in ruining the careers of multiple drivers of the Red Bull Academy, especially that of Daniil Kvyat.
Having started his career alongside Carlos Sainz at Toro Rosso in 2015, Verstappen showed early signs of brilliance, which compelled the team to promote him to a Red Bull seat in 2016. Verstappen joined the team in the early stages of the 2016 season, replacing rookie Daniil Kvyat after just four races. The Russian rookie could not recover from the early setback and continued to tumble down the pecking order.
Having tried the likes of Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly as Verstappen’s teammates, Red Bull could not find the right balance, leading them to give their second seat to a non-academy graduate Sergio Perez. The move generated waves among social media about the team potentially not having enough faith in their academy graduates.
Max Verstappen “ruined” multiple F1 careers
Mitchell-Malm, in his editorial, claims even though Verstappen‘s signing has been a boon for Red Bull, it has given way to a ruthless culture in the team. The Austrian team was once considered to be a generous backer of their drivers, but the image has taken a drastic turn in the last seven years. The axing of de Vries after just ten races this season serves as the latest example of the “teammate-killing” standards Verstappen has set since coming on board.
“Verstappen indirectly destroyed Kvyat’s career. And he massively impacted plenty more. A lack of total faith in Pierre Gasly, who Red Bull had always had doubts over and definitely didn’t view as a Verstappen-esque talent, delayed his F1 debut.”
Not only has the Dutchman created problems for those already in the F1 circuit, but he has also made life difficult for those looking to land a Red Bull seat in the future. The team has no immediate prospects to take up the second seat in the team should Perez leave, let alone there being a potential candidate to replace Verstappen one day.
Red Bull’s ‘cancel culture’ has led lesser future prospects
Christian Horner spoke to ESPN’s Unlapped podcast, where he said the team might look to thin out their F2 drivers this year to diversify their focus on the lower-level races as well. The step could mean lesser options for the team moving, heading into the 2025 season, with Perez’s future still uncertain.
Perez retaining his seat beyond 2024 makes the most sense for Red Bull as they need an experienced driver to ride alongside some like Verstappen. If a rookie were to take up the spot, it could lead to a massive downgrade in morale, given the 25-year-old’s ruthlessness.
Mitchell-Malm also took the opportunity to point out that Red Bull has been struggling to find a strong talent pool for their prospects. A strong development plan leads to the yielding of generational talents like Vettel or Verstappen, but given their lack of prospects, the Austrian team might not be able to reciprocate a driver of such quality.
