Debate | Either the other Red Bull car is cursed, or Verstappen truly is an alien
22:17, 31 Jun
10 Comments
Max Verstappen qualified P3 for the Spanish Grand Prix, his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, however, can be found dead last as the grid lines up for the start of the race in Barcelona tomorrow, a result unworthy of the Japanese driver's talent.
What is happening in that second Red Bull seat?
P5 in a Racing Bulls car in Australia. How on earth does Tsunoda then qualify P20 in Spain? A seasoned F1 driver by now, since he made his debut in 2021, Tsunoda is not accident prone. Yet in a handful of races in Red Bull Racing he's already had one major crash in Imola two weeks ago.
It seems most strange that drivers that prove to be quick in other cars, and get the call up to Red Bull suddenly 'forget how to drive'. That Verstappen is quick, that's like saying the earth is round, only a handful of radical people will deny it. But that all of his teammates since Daniel Ricciardo aren't really good enough to get the most ouf of their race cars. These are the best drivers in the world, aren't they?
Is the car the issue or is Verstappen just that good?
The situation with the second Red Bull seat is baffling. Proven Grand Prix winners have failed where only Verstappen seems to be able to excel, of course not all the time. There are some occasions where not even Verstappen's genius can push the Red Bull car up the grid. And one can't help but wonder: Are those extreme moments where even the Dutchman can't seem to cope, the way his teammates experience most moments inside the car?
Tsunoda is quick and versatile, Sergio Perez was no slouch either and Liam Lawson was surely better than just a two-race-long shot. There's something not even Red Bull themselves can understand, because if they did, then the problem would be solved, logically.
Something is amiss with the second Red Bull car. Either that or Verstappen truly is an alien that was put on this earth to race cars.
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Settle all debates.
Let Max and Yuki swap cars.
Red bull should get Lewis because he is a 7 time world champion 🤣
I have said it before ... driving as No 2 to Max is the kiss of death. Hadjar next.
People want to make it seem that it is only the car...but thats nonsense! These are supposed to be the best drivers in the world!!! These 2nd drivers at Red Bull have had the same car as Max, its crazy they are underperforming like this! Yes, the car, is not great, yes, it may be developed more in a direction which Max likes, so it is oversteer prone and pointy...
However, that last thing is not working very well, so it is less extreme than Max would have liked to see it. Also, I get driver preference, but please....ADAPT!
There is no car in the world that others can drive well in and the very best, like Max, Lewis, Alonso, cant drive equally or close to it... there just isnt! Even if it were a understeer prone car and the polar opposite of what Max likes...he would complain about it, try to set it up differently...and ADAPT! There is simply NO way that he would be out in Q1 all the time when his team mate would get pole or atleast be on the first few rows...
The man steps into Ferrari 296 GT3 and drives a Nürburgring Nordschleife record.
It's not just the car.
Obviously!
It is not just one thing, but many things together. Main reason is car developed for years and years only from the feedback of Verstappen and Verstappen only. Now the next thing that adds to the problem is Verstappen having unique driving style, means the car also handles very uniquely. We have also seen Verstappen in trouble with the car. This means whoever is in 2nd seat, has no chance whatsoever, the driver in 2nd seat is not driving the car, but just trying to survive, if even the possibly best driver on the grid, to who the car has been developed, is in trouble.
At the beginning of development cycle of current cars, there was no problems, as the car came out of working shop and was just made as quick as possible. But then it went in one direction and this is not the direction of whoever sits in 2nd seat.
Even if the car is 100% developed around Max then it still doesn't explain why so many have failed to adapt and at least somewhat keep pace with Max. Especially when you consider that they've done pretty well at other teams.
These guys are supposed to be the best of the best. Surely they should be able to adapt somehow? And if one after another fails to do so is that then because of the car or is it because the guy occupying the other seat is just too damn good?
We can't evaluate every teammate on equal footing , not when the car’s setup window has shrunk to the size of a thimble. As the car’s become increasingly temperamental, teetering between snap oversteer and lazy understeer, the skill gap in handling it has become impossible to ignore.
Now, is taming a wild car the only metric that matters in judging a driver? No, but let’s be honest, it’s a big one. And on that dimension, Max isn’t just elite. He’s top five ever. Maybe top three. Yes, I said ever.
But here's the downside: the team’s gotten complacent. Why fix the beast when Max can dance with it? The engineers aren’t tearing the car down and rebuilding it into something more driver-friendly , like McLaren did , because they don’t have to. Max makes the madness work.
And that’s a problem. Because while Red Bull leans on Max’s superpowers, they’re dragging the same instability into 2026. Meanwhile, McLaren’s out here future-proofing their concept with a rock-solid platform that’ll only pay off more under the new regs. One team’s building for tomorrow. The other’s crossing fingers and clinging to a magician.
Only 20 drivers from around the world get to drive F1. Barring few promoted drivers, rest are best of best. So what ever car was designed after, why is the best of best drivers unable to adapt? When 8 wheel truck driver can adapt to 20 wheel truck.