Ex-F1 champion hits out at Red Bull’s ‘funny’ driver situation amidst Liam Lawson return
2009 F1 world champion Jenson Button expressed his discontent towards Red Bull's driver management as Liam Lawson replaces Daniel Ricciardo.
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Liam Lawson and Helmut Marko (via Paddocknews24.com)
Red Bull is infamous in the F1 paddock for its strict driver management. The Austrian giant does not hesitate from swapping drivers mid-season at both of its teams. Former F1 champion Jenson Button has shared his thoughts on Red Bull’s strategy as Liam Lawson replaces Daniel Ricciardo at RB this weekend.
Button was amused to see how the energy drinks giant handles its drivers. The Briton highlighted that Red Bull and its sister team RB are the only squads in the entire sport that make such major driver line-up changes, sometimes after just three-four races.
It’s a funny one, because there’s only one team really that brings in drivers mid-season, takes drivers out of the seat mid-season, or three races in, six races in, and that team is Red Bull and [RB].
Jenson Button told Sky Sports F1 podcast
Jenson Button claimed that he had never seen such an unusual philosophy in his career. Unless, a team was forced to sack a driver for consistently poor runs, something that happened to Williams’ Logan Sargeant earlier this year.
It is unusual, and I’ve never seen that in my career, unless someone’s been putting it in the wall every race and it’s like: ‘You know what? We can’t afford to have you in the car.’
Jenson Button explained
Jenson Button ‘uncomfortable’ with Red Bull’s driver management
The 2009 F1 world champion further mentioned that he was uncomfortable with such a strategy. Jenson Button reckoned that a driver needs at least one full season to show their full potential. Button insisted that a driver deserves a full season before being forced out of a team. Former Formula 2 champion Nyck de Vries was sacked by AlphaTauri (now RB) after just ten races into the 2023 season.
So it’s a weird one. I’ve never felt comfortable with that, always I feel that a driver deserves a season to really show what he can do, because that’s what it is, right?
Jenson Button stated
Certainly, Jenson Button is not happy with Red Bull’s driver philosophy in Formula 1. However, it seems that the Austrian giant will not change how it manages its drivers for the foreseeable future. If Liam Lawson performs well in his F1 return, he could potentially replace Sergio Perez as early as the 2025 season.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2351 Articles Published)