Red Bull seem to be heading down the marketing hole they used for Daniel Riccardo’s departure from the F1 grid late in the season. They must know by now who their 2025 F1 driver line up will be for both Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team (RB Honda RBPT) and Oracle Red Bull Racing. Yet, their handling of any announcements so late in the season could be described as less than desirable. With the complete line up for both teams yet unconfirmed, it raises unnecessary questions and speculation and maybe another marketing catastrophe.
Has Liam Lawson done enough to take over the seat of Sergio Perez who is obviously not good enough to carry on as Max Verstappen’s Red Bull Racing teammate?
Perez has to go, as his poor form across the 2024 season cannot continue in 2025. His lack of performance has put his team out of the 2024 Constructors’ Championship race, which in turn means less revenue from the prize pool. Ask any team owner and they will always say the Constructors’ title is more important than the Drivers’ title. It is worth much more in revenue.
However, we mustn’t be surprised if he remains on the grid with Red Bull Racing as he does come with a lot of coin.
Has Lawson’s RB Honda RBPT teammate Yuki Tsunoda done enough to also be in the mix for Perez’s seat? One would think not. While making continuous improvement across his 89 Grand Prix raced so far, he’s not exactly looking like a race winner.
So, what’s at stake for the last Grand Prix of the season this weekend at the Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi? Reputation and championship points!
The RB Honda RBPT Abu Dhabi Grand Prix preview media release doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence. Quite the opposite, as it is like they have resigned to finish eighth on the Constructor’s points table when they have been in the fight to finish sixth with both Alpine Renault and Haas Ferrari.
Lawson’s quote is about ‘hope’ and not certainty.
“It’s the last race of the season, which is weird to say as it feels like it’s only just started. I’m looking forward to racing in Abu Dhabi, it’s a track that I’ve raced in the past in F2. I made my debut in an F1 car back in 2021 in the young driver tests, so I’m excited to be back on the track. It’s a fun one to drive, especially with the new layout and the team has had success here in the past, so I’m optimistic. I’ve had a tough couple of races, so I’m hoping to finish the season on a high.”
Hope is when you rely on others misfortune whereas certainty is about making your own luck.
Tsunoda isn’t much better, relying on the fact of how well he did last season.
“The Qatar weekend was a tough one and in the few days since then, the team has been flat out to find why our performance dropped so much after the first few laps on Sunday when I’d managed to get up into the points positions. I think at least part of it was track specific, so I am more optimistic about Abu Dhabi, a circuit where I qualified sixth and finished eighth last year. Our championship situation is more complicated now, but I will be pushing as hard as I can to finish the season in a good way.”
I think that they both know what we know that the car, which was showing so much promise mid-season, is now a dog!
While the highlight for Red Bull fans has been Verstappen’s fourth driver’s title, this whole season that has shown so much promise, has turned into a disappointment.
Like Lawson, we can only hope he finishes the season on a high.
ABU DHABI SCHEDULE (NZ time)
Friday 6 Dec 2024
10.30pm FP 1
Saturday 7 Dec 2024
02.00am FP 2
11.30pm FP 3
Sunday 8 dec 2024
03.00am Qualifying
Monday 9 Dec 2024
02.00am ABU DHABI GP
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