Red Bull’s Dilemma

Much of the talk following the latest pair of Grands Prix in Texas and Mexico has surrounded driving standards and the time penalties given by the stewards to firstly McLaren’s Lando Norris and then Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, and, as such, all eyes will again be on this duo at Brazil’s iconic Interlagos circuit this coming weekend as they continue their battle for this year’s drivers’ world title.

However, the future of Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez also continues to dominate headlines following the Mexican’s continuing run of unacceptably poor performances, and the words of his team principal, Christian Horner, during the build-up to the Brazilian round have, to say the least, been ominous: "Checo knows that Formula 1 is a results-based business, and inevitably, when you’re not delivering, the spotlight is firmly on you. As a team, we need to have both cars scoring points."

When pushed further about Pérez’s future, Horner confirmed that he would definitely be in the car at Interlagos but didn’t offer any reassurance beyond this point, adding: "We’ve done everything we can to support Checo, but there comes a point in time when difficult decisions have to be made."

How true that is, with Red Bull having now dropped from leading the Constructors’ Championship to third behind McLaren and Ferrari. Pérez’s failure to deliver the goods compared to his teammate Max Verstappen used to just be an irritation for the team, as the Dutch reigning champion was able to score sufficient points on his own to keep the outfit at the top of the constructors’ ranking. However, with both McLaren and Ferrari having very much increased their own competitiveness as this season has progressed, the team is all too aware of the financial implications of their fall to third place in the constructors’ table. F1 prize money is based solely on your finishing position in the constructors’ end-of-year rankings, and third place is likely to be worth a mighty $20 million less than being first.

Looking ahead, it seems ever more likely that Pérez will soon be gone and perhaps replaced at Red Bull by New Zealand’s Liam Lawson, who has performed well since being drafted into the sister RB team to replace the sacked Daniel Ricciardo. The young Kiwi has shown he is willing to get his elbows out when racing, and this has been noted and appreciated by Red Bull’s senior management, but any promotion for Lawson would then leave a seat to be filled at RB alongside Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda. Horner has enquired about the availability of the Williams driver, Franco Colapinto, for next season, but Red Bull is understandably not keen to take the highly promising young Argentinian merely on a loan basis, only to train him up before then having to give him back.

We can but see if a financial deal is struck for Colapinto to be fully released, as Williams is committed to having Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon as its race drivers for at least the next two seasons, leaving Colapinto on the sidelines. Another factor to bear in mind is that Colapinto’s eye-catching performances, since replacing Williams’ unimpressive American driver, Logan Sargeant, with effect from this year’s Italian Grand Prix in September, have very much raised the profile of Formula 1 in Argentina and Latin America as a whole.

F1 is one of the world’s highest-profile sports, but it is also big business, and new sponsors in Argentina are keen to become involved on the back of Colapinto’s success, with the 21-year-old already right up there with the veteran Lionel Messi as one of the country’s biggest stars. On top of this, there’s also even talk of a potential return for an Argentinian Grand Prix to the calendar, but for this to retain substance and progress, Colapinto so needs to be on next year’s grid and not sat quietly on the sidelines. Rest assured that Formula 1’s owners, Liberty Media, are well aware of this.