Ralf Schumacher pinpoints ‘first mistake’ by Red Bull over driver lineup saga

Ralf Schumacher reckoned that Red Bull committed a big mistake early on in the 2024 season that caused the whole driver lineup saga in 2025.

Ralf Schumacher pinpoints ‘first mistake’ by Red Bull over driver lineup saga

Liam Lawson and Max Verstappen (via Red Bull), Ralf Schumacher (via IMAGO)

Red Bull has faced a very dire situation after just two weeks of the 2025 season. The team locked in Liam Lawson after he performed somewhat better than RB’s Yuki Tsunoda in private tests. However, Milton Keynes decided to swap Lawson with Tsunoda after just two woeful races from the former. Now, the Japanese driver will take on the spot at Red Bull and race alongside Max Verstappen. Upon this, ex-F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has talked critically of the mistakes conducted by the Austrian outfit.

Red Bull waged their driver options after Sergio Perez decided to part ways with the team following the end of the 2024 season. The team had a plethora of options as multiple drivers’ contracts were opening up. Amongst the many drivers who had uncertainty in teams was Nico Hulkenberg who revealed a new contract with Sauber Kick (eventually Audi) mid-way through the previous season.

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Ralf Schumacher believes that the mistake of not acquiring Hulkenberg was the beginning of Red Bull’s downfall. The German’s entry to Milton Keynes was supposedly never talked about much in public due to the quick declination of the idea. According to Schumacher, Christian Horner was the one who blocked this move from happening. The 49-year-old revealed that Horner reportedly did not want to acquire the Sauber Kick-bound driver at the Austrian constructor.

The mistake, from the beginning, was not to let Nico Hülkenberg get in the car, apparently Christian Horner did not want it. That’s what I heard.

Ralf Schumacher told Sky Deutschland

Schumacher emphasized that Red Bull required a driver with a lot of experience to become a good number 2 driver to Max Verstappen. The German believed that Hulkenberg would be perfect for this role as he had many good qualities. The 49-year-old pointed out that the Sauber driver is not only fast but also showcases solid performances in both Qualifying and the Race.

They would have needed a clear and experienced number 2 to support Max Verstappen. Nico would have been perfect, fast and solid both in Qualifying and in the Race.

Ralf Schumacher added

Ralf Schumacher reveals Christian Horner ‘wanted’ Franco Colapinto at Red Bull

The Argentine Franco Colapinto showcased great results with Williams following his debut with the team after replacing Logan Sargeant. However, his quick results from the get-go caused a lot of teams to be interested in him. Amongst the sea of teams wanting Colapinto, Christian Horner was also one of them.

Max Verstappen and Christian Horner (via Red Bull Content Pool)
Max Verstappen and Christian Horner (via Red Bull Content Pool)

Ralf Schumacher revealed that Christian Horner had a clear interest in acquiring Franco Colapinto at Red Bull with Max Verstappen. However, the Argentine ‘slipped away’ from Horner’s hands as Alpine was quick to take the driver in their reserve program. Ultimately, the Briton selected the next best option which seemed to be Liam Lawson at the team which did not turn out as expected.

This was the big mistake. I think Horner wanted Colapinto, but the Argentine driver slipped away from the list of candidates.

Ralf Schumacher noted

Ralf Schumacher claims ‘no young man’ near Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen has been labeled as a career killer of his teammates as they seldom match up to his performances at Red Bull. Liam Lawson was similarly axed from the team as he was extremely lackluster compared to Verstappen in the same car. Ralf Schumacher opined on Milton Keynes’ interest in taking a gamble on young drivers which ultimately ruined their careers early on

Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson (via Red Bull)
Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson (via Red Bull)

Schumacher claimed that after losing Colapinto, Helmut Marko was the one who decided to select a driver from Red Bull’s junior program. However, as depicted by the results, the young driver was a total failure in the first two races of the season. Subsequently, the German didn’t hesitate to assert that there wasn’t any driver in the current young generation who would compete with Max Verstappen, especially at Red Bull.

At that point Marko decided to focus on their young program drivers, but in two races there were only total failures. At the moment, I don’t see a young man near Max Verstappen.

Ralf Scumacher concluded

Red Bull has the massive task of finding massive improvements early on in the 2025 season. The rivals have kept up with an impressive pace since the beginning of the ground-effect era. Hence, Milton Keynes must find upgrades, or else they could lose the championship contention early on. Verstappen continues to persevere at the Austrian constructor regardless of the disappointing performance of the car.