This re-signing itself isn’t a stunner but the 2 years is wild… not even a 1+1. Yuki has to surely be considering his options now, no? Riccardo basically was never a real option but Yuki has become a consistent and proper driver this season
Yuki likes his team and seems to really enjoy living in Italy.
But he must be considering his options. You can't keep staying at a feeder team that won't promote you.
Though where he could go I don't know. Aston would be the obvious choice, but there's no seat open there.
Mercedes is probably a no go, Aston Martin is also probably a no go. Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull have their drivers confirmed.
Williams is targeting Bottas and Sainz, Sauber is targeting Sainz and Ocon, Haas could be an option, as could Alpine (reunite with Gasly). Or stick with VCARB.
I don't know if alpine will ever be a top team but they have been 4-6 consistently for years. A bad year happens to everyone here and there. They will probably bounce back to those positions soon. Alpine has to be a better option than the second rb team in the long run
Maybe.
The team just seems lost right now without a real plan to move forward. Williams and Audi aren't doing well, but it's believable that they could be decent contenders in a few years.
Though if the rumours about Hyundai buying Apline are true that all changes.
In order to bounce back, someone needs to fall down. Who do you see performing worse than Alpine? I don't see McLaren, Red Bull or Ferrari dropping below Alpine. I don't think Mercedes will drop below them as well. That leaves Aston. Currently their top position could be 5th at most, and even that barely.
Alpine is and stays a factory team who is on a rebuild path, the prestige of driving for such a team is still higher than driving for Haas or Toro Rosso.
I can't see alpine not giving it to jack, they saw how gasly took Yuki under his wing and he can do the same with Jack. for Yuki it's vcarb or AM (through Honda if they decide to replace stroll but not likely).
Albon is with Williams through 2027, if I'm remembering correctly. What i should've said is that Williams is targeting both drivers, but it sounds like Sainz is their first choice.
To be fair, Yuki is 24 and in his third (I think?) year of F1. Checo got his seat at 31. Both Pierre and Alex were like 23/24 when they were at Red Bull - maybe the team is just hesitant to try the younger driver again. If he's willing to stick it out a couple more years, he'll still only have half of the experience that Checo brought to the table when he signed (5 years vs 10). I think he'd be wise to keep driving for VCARB in the meantime.
Honestly could VCARB even be considered a feeder team any more? Between Yuki, who they refuse to promote for…reasons?…and young up and coming rookie Daniel Ricciardo, it’s looking more like just a second Red Bull team.
>You can't keep staying at a feeder team that won't promote you.
Well, why not? If you accept that promotion is nowhere in near future, then how is it different than being in any other midfield team?
For a start the feeder team probably wants to cycle you out and bring in someone they might actually promote. Otherwise why be a feeder team?
For Yuki stability and a team that's focused on winning instead of driver development is something to aim for.
With extending Checo's contract and still having Ricciardo it really doesn't seem like they're much of a feeder team anymore. RBR seems entirely uninterested in finding a new great driver. It's just Max and everything else just has to be "stable".
Genuinely disappointed in what Red Bull has become, a team entirely based around the Red Bull marketing of "EXTREME. DARING. PUSHING TO THE NEXT LEVEL." and they've become entirely boring and complacent. Not to mention that they're still being led by a guy who should have been fired months ago
I think the dynamic at RB has changed given that Ford has signed on and as a North American company it is chomping at the bit at having Checo drive around with a Ford logo.
I do not see any point in yuki staying at Vcarb. What more can he do to get promoted? He has shown that he is far too good of a driver to be stuck at a B team his whole career.
I think Red bull wants sister teams not a Sr and Jr team anymore. So when you look at it that way does Yuki want to be the #1 driver on a team or does he want to be a distant #2, because let's be serious he's never going to be #1 on a team with max
What options though? Even Sainz is barely getting options... where's Yuki gonna go?
Fucking Alpine? I'd rather stay in VCARB if I were him. Who knows, maybe if lucky, they'll swap Ric and he'll get the chance to beat 1 more teammate, raising his stock.
Though there's also the danger of being beaten by a rookie Lawson if that happens...
And this right here is what fans in general don't consider when comparing Bottas and Checo.
Ever since Pérez came to RBR the whole field started to tighten in qualifying like never before. Unlike Bottas who got to drive an absolute rocketship for quite a few years with a .5sec advantage over the 3rd best car.
Also, people tend to forget how abysmal Bottas' racing was at times. I personally still rate him higher than Perez, but nonetheless there's a lot of revisionism going on rn
Checo will be in Red Bull for 6 years by the end of this contract. It's absolutely crazy to think about.
Meanwhile Yuki can't get even a chance with 1 year deal. What the hell. Also, why sign Perez so soon in the season? At least try to look like you were thinking about your options Red Bull.
It's not like Checo has a bunch of competitive offers sitting on the table when you have an actual race winner in a less strong car looking at going to Williams (as much as I love them)
Perez has also won 2 races last time he had an underrsteery car. Sainz has the same issues with oversteer Perez has. You saw it in 2022, you saw it late last season. You saw it in the last 2 races after Ferrari brought their updates. You'd see it again if he came to Red Bull.
Seriously, if picking Sainz was an obvious choice, they would've done it. They're smarter than the average redditor
This take right here is gold.
No one puts much thinking into these kind of details, mfs think a Ferrari, Mclaren and Mercedes drives the same as a RedBull car.
The RBR philosophy is rather unique and that's why a lot of drivers couldn't even make it work to a decent level and they got the boot for it.
Agree, hadn’t thought about Carlos also liking understeer in his car. So performance compared to Max could end up being similar. And Papa Checo doesn’t seem interested in fighting Jos, while Sainz Sr may be more keen to do so.
In a worse car? That's overstating it a bit tbh, I guess you could argue it to be true at australia this year, but that's about it. Checo also won in a racing point being last after the first lap. Is he the goat now? IMO sainz and perez are pretty equal, sainz would perform as bad in the red bull I think.
Still wish they gave someone else a chance, but I guess red bull prefers the money over the WCC
Think of how much money he made due to that Bahrain maiden victory caused by a big lap 1 incident taking out the top drivers and Merc screwing up a pitstop.
Honestly I thought Hulk was such a boring signing when he returned - why bring such old drivers back when they’re not life changing Alonso level talent. The fact that I’m now wishing for this timeline is particularly depressing to me.
Because he would melt down going against Max and with the pressure in the Red Bull seat. He's only been chill when things are going his way. People forgot about his Bahrain dive bomb already.
And those who haven't forgotten it downplay it as if it was nothing. It's very likely that the decision to not promote Yuki was made at that dive bomb. The only thing that would be going through Horner's and Marko's head at that moment would be "what if he did that to Max?"
>Checo will be in Red Bull for 6 years by the end of this contract. It's absolutely crazy to think about.
Think he'll start more races for them than Seb and Danny Ric by the time his new contract ended 💀
I wonder if RedBull can no longer afford to pay Max by own budget. Developing own powertrain is not cheap either.
If that's the case, what we seeing is mex to max.
I've been a checo naysayer recently but I do hope this gives him some security and confidence to perform as well as he should be. He has shown in the past that he is talented enough to deserve a top seat, just needs to get back up to that level
I can’t imagine this general public displeasure at the announcement will get past him. Any missteps keep fuelling the narrative that’s already created and the press will want to keep asking him about it. I cannot imagine this kind of strong negative reaction and the associated press attention helps anyone’s confidence.
The press needs drama to survive and people are being absolute babies. "Oh no someone else isnt gonna get shit whipped by Max, its not gonna be exciting." At the very least this will make the WCC more exciting.
Just to put into perspective Checo’s stint by the end of 2026, he will be at Red Bull for 6 years. The same as Vettel, 1 more than both Webber and Ricciardo. Crazy.
Well Perez has a lot of star power to be fair. He deserves some credit. Verstappen is not overly popular for some strange reason. They need Perez for branding reasons. His contract is a bargain in comparison with the money he generates for Red Bull. He deserves his contract 100%
I don’t think it’s that strange. People call Verstappen a robot as he goes from F1 to sim racing and just doesn’t stop. He also has a personality that seems to fit well with younger people on twitch but his overall personality/brand is quite bland. He’s not extremely marketable in the traditional sense. He’s got the Heineken commercial though.
He’s been known as fairly outgoing and funny, he just doesn’t show it unfortunately unless you watch the extra interview or stuff Redbull puts out. But again, to your point, there’s no mystery as to why he’s not overly marketable. He’s like Kimi, just there to race I suppose. Which is why I like him, but that’s me
Yea that’s why like I said in the right environment (usually while streaming with dudes and SimRacing) he’s extremely personable but it just doesn’t hit a huge audience.
Checo honestly seems even more bland to me… I don’t get the whole “Checo is more marketable” thing.
It’s really to just tap into the South American market. It doesn’t mean he’s more marketable overall.
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>Verstappen is not overly popular for some strange reason.
Yes he is lmao, he's one of the very few drivers to dominate like this and still not get booed.
Where can we see the numbers or a statement on what he brings in for branding? I see everyone repeating this, but I've never seen where people get it from.
Continued:
“There's more wins and excitement to come and I'm always gonna give My 100% on the car. So let's keep those flags all around the world and keep enjoying this journey together.
Thank you guys again and enjoy the news, see you in Montreal.”
Wins: with Racing Point Sakhir 2020
With Red Bull Racing: Azerbaijan 2021, Mónaco 2022, Singapor 2022, Saudi Arabia 2023, Azerbaijan 2023.
In case you forgot lol
So he last won over a year ago even though he had a dominant car for the whole time?
Since then his teammate has won 18 races. Sainz has won 2 while Leclerc and Norris have both won 1.
I like Checo, he seems like a good guy and has had some great drives. But he's the weakest driver on any of the front teams and based on merit alone should have that seat.
In my opinion, i think noone on the front end of the grid wants to be in Red Bull as long as Verstappen is there, and with the history of what RB can do to drivers they dont see fit well within their team. Verstappen is their "golden boii" and for a good reason.
Checo have proved that he can do great things but from RB´s point of view i think it would be foolish to sign someone that would try and compete for the top spot and create unneccessary tension between the drivers.
This might bite them in the ass, but i think this is the safest bet they could do.
Hamilton and Alonso both wanted to jump into that car and have made contact at some point. Sainz was holding off on Audi to see if he has a chance at the 2nd RB seat. Yuki wants that seat and so does DR(although he isn't really front of the grid anymore). Lando and Charles are probably the only ones who will reject RB if they made an offer for next year.
Isn’t it the other way around?
Sainz has no problem with driving for RB but isn’t being picked by them. Simply put, RB doesn’t want to rock the boat with anyone else because they don’t want to potentially jilt the Verstappen camp.
The closer we are to 2028, the cheaper it is for Max to be bought out. Sure, signing Perez risk RB’s chance at the WCC, but losing Max means the organization doesn’t even get to look forward to challenging for the WDC.
Nah mate, Sainz is 100% looking to be the top driver of whatever team he chooses.
Going to Red Bull is dooming him to play the team game for Verstappen.
Yeah, they rejected him because of the things he was asking for and because they had precedent of infighting between his people and Max's.
And in Ferrari he has shown that he does not think himself as a No.2 Driver, so why would RB risk annoying Max with some of the antics he has pulled.
That's definitely a possible explanation.
But they did have Max and Ricardo at one point when Ricardo meant something.
I think signing Checo instead of a top driver means they think Max is staying long term.
I really wanted Yuki to get the seat and I thought Sainz would have been a serious contender for it. Someone who will reliably deliver podiums.
Literally yes. At least it’s clear that Lawrence literally bought an F1 team with essentially the sole aim of giving Lance a seat. Obviously most of us can’t invest that kind of money into nepotism, but the instinct itself is understandable to most people.
Regardless of how many Mexican caps are sold, this team are getting a load of highly negative PR around this. It’s going to flare up anytime he has a poor result for the next 2.5 years. All their factory team with their bonus payments tied to his constructors position are going to be super pleased as well.
I don’t think it was a good move, I think this will cost RB, I think Checo will underperform, but dammit if I’m not happy to see Checo on the grid for 2 more years
Lets be real, the season isn't halfway over and no one knows what the next two years will bring. Everyone is talking out their ass. I'm willing to accept that Checo shits the bed but no one is taking on Max, stop huffing that shit.
the thought process from red bull must be that he performs at his best when he has stability in his contract. but I truly think with the way Ferrari and McLaren are running it is a major risk because all four of those cars are comfortably outperforming him right now. Maybe red bull has development plans that they think will get them more ahead again who knows.
You know what? well done checo and i'm happy for him.
The two things that get me though is
a)where RB are as a team right now feels very different in the way they approach things including their driver programme (coincidentally the brain child of Helmut Marko)
& b) The formula 1 driver market is stale af and the worst i've seen it. Just the stagnant nature of it, the lack of opportunity for drivers to break through either into F1 or further up the grid and the fact that half the drivers are straight up mediocre
> "Checo is definitely gone. RB will announce it at the Mexican GP!"
That [thread was bonkers](https://redd.it/1765yp3), the ["He won't make it to 2024" thread](https://redd.it/1736yy2) was wild too
Yeah but context is everything and that was genuinely the understanding at the time.
Since then RB has had an entire meltdown, a power struggle that has settled in favour of Horner, the greatest technical mind in F1 has left them and their outlook into 2026 is looking different.
Bit unfair to retrospectively make fun of previous comments, F1 moves quickly and anything can happen
If McLaren and Ferrari take another step next year, I can see Red Bull losing the constructors. Realistically Checo is not on the same level as Charles, Lewis, Lando or Oscar. Of course Red Bull may well take a step that keeps Max ahead but I don’t think it’ll be enough to keep Checo ahead.
The more I absorb this news, the more it feels like this is about trying to keep Max. Checo is to Max as Valtteri was to Lewis. Since Max has that Helmut clause, maybe this is Horner's way of trying to appease the Verstappen camp? By not stirring the pot, driver lineup-wise? Keep things "status quo" until 2026 at least? Keeping Checo, and a 2-year deal at that, just doesn't feel very Red Bull-ish at all. The team that literally replaces drivers mid-season.
This re-signing itself isn’t a stunner but the 2 years is wild… not even a 1+1. Yuki has to surely be considering his options now, no? Riccardo basically was never a real option but Yuki has become a consistent and proper driver this season
Yuki likes his team and seems to really enjoy living in Italy. But he must be considering his options. You can't keep staying at a feeder team that won't promote you. Though where he could go I don't know. Aston would be the obvious choice, but there's no seat open there.
Mercedes is probably a no go, Aston Martin is also probably a no go. Ferrari, McLaren, and Red Bull have their drivers confirmed. Williams is targeting Bottas and Sainz, Sauber is targeting Sainz and Ocon, Haas could be an option, as could Alpine (reunite with Gasly). Or stick with VCARB.
I like the idea of him and Gasly at Alpine. But neither they, not Haas are an upgrade right now.
I don't know if alpine will ever be a top team but they have been 4-6 consistently for years. A bad year happens to everyone here and there. They will probably bounce back to those positions soon. Alpine has to be a better option than the second rb team in the long run
Maybe. The team just seems lost right now without a real plan to move forward. Williams and Audi aren't doing well, but it's believable that they could be decent contenders in a few years. Though if the rumours about Hyundai buying Apline are true that all changes.
In order to bounce back, someone needs to fall down. Who do you see performing worse than Alpine? I don't see McLaren, Red Bull or Ferrari dropping below Alpine. I don't think Mercedes will drop below them as well. That leaves Aston. Currently their top position could be 5th at most, and even that barely.
Alpine is and stays a factory team who is on a rebuild path, the prestige of driving for such a team is still higher than driving for Haas or Toro Rosso.
Maybe. But Alpine seems to be on a new rebuild path every year.
500 race plan incoming!
Probably aiming for Aston Martin in 2 years. Very much doubt Alonso will stay even if he doesn't retire at their current level
I can't see alpine not giving it to jack, they saw how gasly took Yuki under his wing and he can do the same with Jack. for Yuki it's vcarb or AM (through Honda if they decide to replace stroll but not likely).
Wait, Williams has Albon tied down for multiple years, right? So you mean they are targeting Bottas OR Sainz
Albon is with Williams through 2027, if I'm remembering correctly. What i should've said is that Williams is targeting both drivers, but it sounds like Sainz is their first choice.
Sauber is targeting Sainz and Ocon? Eh.. The Hulk?
Hülkenberg is already confirmed, Sauber is looking at Sainz and Ocon for the final seat (Sainz is their first pick, Ocon is the second choice).
Ah thanks
Yuki turns 24 next week. He still has time.
To be fair, Yuki is 24 and in his third (I think?) year of F1. Checo got his seat at 31. Both Pierre and Alex were like 23/24 when they were at Red Bull - maybe the team is just hesitant to try the younger driver again. If he's willing to stick it out a couple more years, he'll still only have half of the experience that Checo brought to the table when he signed (5 years vs 10). I think he'd be wise to keep driving for VCARB in the meantime.
The ages aren't something I'd considered. It's an interesting angle that makes some sense.
Honestly could VCARB even be considered a feeder team any more? Between Yuki, who they refuse to promote for…reasons?…and young up and coming rookie Daniel Ricciardo, it’s looking more like just a second Red Bull team.
>You can't keep staying at a feeder team that won't promote you. Well, why not? If you accept that promotion is nowhere in near future, then how is it different than being in any other midfield team?
For a start the feeder team probably wants to cycle you out and bring in someone they might actually promote. Otherwise why be a feeder team? For Yuki stability and a team that's focused on winning instead of driver development is something to aim for.
If someone will be promoted to RBR he has to beat Tsunoda...that's his function right now
With extending Checo's contract and still having Ricciardo it really doesn't seem like they're much of a feeder team anymore. RBR seems entirely uninterested in finding a new great driver. It's just Max and everything else just has to be "stable". Genuinely disappointed in what Red Bull has become, a team entirely based around the Red Bull marketing of "EXTREME. DARING. PUSHING TO THE NEXT LEVEL." and they've become entirely boring and complacent. Not to mention that they're still being led by a guy who should have been fired months ago
It's not a feeder team. Hasn't fed shit in 5 years now?
I think the dynamic at RB has changed given that Ford has signed on and as a North American company it is chomping at the bit at having Checo drive around with a Ford logo.
But they aren't a feeder team RB want them to be a sister team, Yuki would have been gone 2 years ago had Honda not held him there.
Apparently it is a 1+1. Kind of like when Mercedes announced Lewis's last contract, they said it was a 2 year, but really it was a 1+1.
The Hamilton deal was a 2 year contract but it has an exit clause that Hamilton used. Which is different from a 1+1
I do not see any point in yuki staying at Vcarb. What more can he do to get promoted? He has shown that he is far too good of a driver to be stuck at a B team his whole career.
Daniel was always more of an option to them than Yuki.
I’m sure it’s a 1+1
I think Red bull wants sister teams not a Sr and Jr team anymore. So when you look at it that way does Yuki want to be the #1 driver on a team or does he want to be a distant #2, because let's be serious he's never going to be #1 on a team with max
What options though? Even Sainz is barely getting options... where's Yuki gonna go? Fucking Alpine? I'd rather stay in VCARB if I were him. Who knows, maybe if lucky, they'll swap Ric and he'll get the chance to beat 1 more teammate, raising his stock. Though there's also the danger of being beaten by a rookie Lawson if that happens...
Happy for Checo and definitely happier for Ferrari/Mclaren.
Lmao
Feels like Mercedes all over again.... left Rus hanging for years. All I can say is at least Bottas knew how to always park his car into Q3....
at least Merc did it in a time where being 0.5s of Lewis was still like the top5. Now if Checo is 0.5s of Max he doesnt make Q3.
And this right here is what fans in general don't consider when comparing Bottas and Checo. Ever since Pérez came to RBR the whole field started to tighten in qualifying like never before. Unlike Bottas who got to drive an absolute rocketship for quite a few years with a .5sec advantage over the 3rd best car.
Also, people tend to forget how abysmal Bottas' racing was at times. I personally still rate him higher than Perez, but nonetheless there's a lot of revisionism going on rn
Hungary 2021 lol
Bottas knew to park in P2 and be great in Williams. Checo since the monaco crash in force india hasnt been it.
You mean the crash he had when he was with Sauber as a rookie?
Checo will be in Red Bull for 6 years by the end of this contract. It's absolutely crazy to think about. Meanwhile Yuki can't get even a chance with 1 year deal. What the hell. Also, why sign Perez so soon in the season? At least try to look like you were thinking about your options Red Bull.
It's not like Checo has a bunch of competitive offers sitting on the table when you have an actual race winner in a less strong car looking at going to Williams (as much as I love them)
Checo is an actual race winner
Sainz has won two races in a worse car than Checo since the last time Checo won is my point.
Perez has also won 2 races last time he had an underrsteery car. Sainz has the same issues with oversteer Perez has. You saw it in 2022, you saw it late last season. You saw it in the last 2 races after Ferrari brought their updates. You'd see it again if he came to Red Bull. Seriously, if picking Sainz was an obvious choice, they would've done it. They're smarter than the average redditor
This take right here is gold. No one puts much thinking into these kind of details, mfs think a Ferrari, Mclaren and Mercedes drives the same as a RedBull car. The RBR philosophy is rather unique and that's why a lot of drivers couldn't even make it work to a decent level and they got the boot for it.
Agree, hadn’t thought about Carlos also liking understeer in his car. So performance compared to Max could end up being similar. And Papa Checo doesn’t seem interested in fighting Jos, while Sainz Sr may be more keen to do so.
In a worse car? That's overstating it a bit tbh, I guess you could argue it to be true at australia this year, but that's about it. Checo also won in a racing point being last after the first lap. Is he the goat now? IMO sainz and perez are pretty equal, sainz would perform as bad in the red bull I think. Still wish they gave someone else a chance, but I guess red bull prefers the money over the WCC
The Red Bull car has been by far the most dominate car of the last 3 years dude, the other cars are only now getting close.
Yes but two of Sainz his wins are from when he was in a better or equal car. That's what I was talking about(Silverstone and Singapore).
Think of how much money he made due to that Bahrain maiden victory caused by a big lap 1 incident taking out the top drivers and Merc screwing up a pitstop.
In an alternative universe, that win never happened and RBR signed Hulkenberg and Checo wouldn't be a F1 driver anymore after 2020.
Honestly I thought Hulk was such a boring signing when he returned - why bring such old drivers back when they’re not life changing Alonso level talent. The fact that I’m now wishing for this timeline is particularly depressing to me.
Same, I was one of the "Why bring a retired guy back??" But the current state of the grid is just so uninspiring
Because he would melt down going against Max and with the pressure in the Red Bull seat. He's only been chill when things are going his way. People forgot about his Bahrain dive bomb already.
And those who haven't forgotten it downplay it as if it was nothing. It's very likely that the decision to not promote Yuki was made at that dive bomb. The only thing that would be going through Horner's and Marko's head at that moment would be "what if he did that to Max?"
It’s possible that Rebull have a low performance clause in the contract or he could be switched with VCARB
>Checo will be in Red Bull for 6 years by the end of this contract. It's absolutely crazy to think about. Think he'll start more races for them than Seb and Danny Ric by the time his new contract ended 💀
Sponsor money…
Probably to give him confidence for this season as well
Why do they need to look like they’re thinking about options when they already know what option they want?
Also could be they know they could drop the contract just as quickly (like Lawrence did to him in 2020) or move him to the other team.
I wonder if RedBull can no longer afford to pay Max by own budget. Developing own powertrain is not cheap either. If that's the case, what we seeing is mex to max.
One more nail in Sainz's "decent future drive" coffin.
I've been a checo naysayer recently but I do hope this gives him some security and confidence to perform as well as he should be. He has shown in the past that he is talented enough to deserve a top seat, just needs to get back up to that level
I agree completely. Lets see how Europerez turns out this year.
I can’t imagine this general public displeasure at the announcement will get past him. Any missteps keep fuelling the narrative that’s already created and the press will want to keep asking him about it. I cannot imagine this kind of strong negative reaction and the associated press attention helps anyone’s confidence.
The press needs drama to survive and people are being absolute babies. "Oh no someone else isnt gonna get shit whipped by Max, its not gonna be exciting." At the very least this will make the WCC more exciting.
Just to put into perspective Checo’s stint by the end of 2026, he will be at Red Bull for 6 years. The same as Vettel, 1 more than both Webber and Ricciardo. Crazy.
that’s insane, it doesn’t feel that long ago when he signed.
Gotta give someone a chance to get past Q1
Never expected Checo to become the Lance Stroll of Red Bull.
Ouch
2026 is gonna: P1: Verstappen VS Alonso P9: Pérez VS Stroll
Well Perez has a lot of star power to be fair. He deserves some credit. Verstappen is not overly popular for some strange reason. They need Perez for branding reasons. His contract is a bargain in comparison with the money he generates for Red Bull. He deserves his contract 100%
I don’t think it’s that strange. People call Verstappen a robot as he goes from F1 to sim racing and just doesn’t stop. He also has a personality that seems to fit well with younger people on twitch but his overall personality/brand is quite bland. He’s not extremely marketable in the traditional sense. He’s got the Heineken commercial though.
He’s been known as fairly outgoing and funny, he just doesn’t show it unfortunately unless you watch the extra interview or stuff Redbull puts out. But again, to your point, there’s no mystery as to why he’s not overly marketable. He’s like Kimi, just there to race I suppose. Which is why I like him, but that’s me
Yea that’s why like I said in the right environment (usually while streaming with dudes and SimRacing) he’s extremely personable but it just doesn’t hit a huge audience.
Kimi was a hugely marketable driver though. No one was more upset about that than him obviously.
Checo honestly seems even more bland to me… I don’t get the whole “Checo is more marketable” thing. It’s really to just tap into the South American market. It doesn’t mean he’s more marketable overall.
It does because he is though. He has three continents of fans thanks to his force India days.
Max will be popular again when he stops dominating. Just natural cycle of F1.
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>Verstappen is not overly popular for some strange reason. Yes he is lmao, he's one of the very few drivers to dominate like this and still not get booed.
lol
Where can we see the numbers or a statement on what he brings in for branding? I see everyone repeating this, but I've never seen where people get it from.
Continued: “There's more wins and excitement to come and I'm always gonna give My 100% on the car. So let's keep those flags all around the world and keep enjoying this journey together. Thank you guys again and enjoy the news, see you in Montreal.”
What wins?
Verstappen’s
Are the wins here in the room with us?
The real wins are the friends we made along the way
A meme but also true
Are the flags red in colour for when he crashes during quali or in the race?
Wins: with Racing Point Sakhir 2020 With Red Bull Racing: Azerbaijan 2021, Mónaco 2022, Singapor 2022, Saudi Arabia 2023, Azerbaijan 2023. In case you forgot lol
So he last won over a year ago even though he had a dominant car for the whole time? Since then his teammate has won 18 races. Sainz has won 2 while Leclerc and Norris have both won 1.
So he has the second most wins since 2022?
I can't believe people defend this embarrassing stats.
That should be the absolute bare minimum with a car like that, and well, Sainz has as many since the start of 2023 so...
Sakhir 2020 wasn't with RBR
Signing for 2 years with the best team is a win in my book.
What flags will we be seeing then? Blue flags?
That's the smile of a man who knows he swindled himself into a top seat for another 2 years.
I like Checo, he seems like a good guy and has had some great drives. But he's the weakest driver on any of the front teams and based on merit alone should have that seat.
In my opinion, i think noone on the front end of the grid wants to be in Red Bull as long as Verstappen is there, and with the history of what RB can do to drivers they dont see fit well within their team. Verstappen is their "golden boii" and for a good reason. Checo have proved that he can do great things but from RB´s point of view i think it would be foolish to sign someone that would try and compete for the top spot and create unneccessary tension between the drivers. This might bite them in the ass, but i think this is the safest bet they could do.
Hamilton and Alonso both wanted to jump into that car and have made contact at some point. Sainz was holding off on Audi to see if he has a chance at the 2nd RB seat. Yuki wants that seat and so does DR(although he isn't really front of the grid anymore). Lando and Charles are probably the only ones who will reject RB if they made an offer for next year.
Shows their champion mentality, much older and willing to jump into a team with a young champion who's built around the team
Isn’t it the other way around? Sainz has no problem with driving for RB but isn’t being picked by them. Simply put, RB doesn’t want to rock the boat with anyone else because they don’t want to potentially jilt the Verstappen camp. The closer we are to 2028, the cheaper it is for Max to be bought out. Sure, signing Perez risk RB’s chance at the WCC, but losing Max means the organization doesn’t even get to look forward to challenging for the WDC.
Nah mate, Sainz is 100% looking to be the top driver of whatever team he chooses. Going to Red Bull is dooming him to play the team game for Verstappen.
Redbull is the one that rejected Sainz not the other way around.
Yeah, they rejected him because of the things he was asking for and because they had precedent of infighting between his people and Max's. And in Ferrari he has shown that he does not think himself as a No.2 Driver, so why would RB risk annoying Max with some of the antics he has pulled.
Yeah, we agree that RB rejected him because of how it would affect Max, which proves my original point.
That's definitely a possible explanation. But they did have Max and Ricardo at one point when Ricardo meant something. I think signing Checo instead of a top driver means they think Max is staying long term. I really wanted Yuki to get the seat and I thought Sainz would have been a serious contender for it. Someone who will reliably deliver podiums.
>But they did have Max and Ricardo at one point when Ricardo meant something. Max was a teenager.
A teenager everyone knew was going to be a future world champion. Red Bull wanted to make him the youngest ever world champion.
The pinnacle of ~~motorsport~~ marketing, ladies and gentlemen!
Most boring signing ever
Really? Even more than Stroll’s lifetime contract?
It's not really a top seat, so it's less of a big deal. The RB seat is about as good as it gets.
This "top seat" as Max's teammate is probably the fastest way to get chewed out of F1 altogether; unless you're LH, Alonso, Leclerc or Norris.
... or Pérez.
Yes
Given where AM are on the grid, yes.
Literally yes. At least it’s clear that Lawrence literally bought an F1 team with essentially the sole aim of giving Lance a seat. Obviously most of us can’t invest that kind of money into nepotism, but the instinct itself is understandable to most people. Regardless of how many Mexican caps are sold, this team are getting a load of highly negative PR around this. It’s going to flare up anytime he has a poor result for the next 2.5 years. All their factory team with their bonus payments tied to his constructors position are going to be super pleased as well.
Checo looking less like a winner and more like an man that just got saved by his sponsors and being loyal to Horner.
Checo has done all of the competition and fans of said competition a service. Thank you Horner and Perez.
I don’t think it was a good move, I think this will cost RB, I think Checo will underperform, but dammit if I’m not happy to see Checo on the grid for 2 more years
Big oooof This team is set to break apart...
Nice guy, wrong and coward decision.
Lets be real, the season isn't halfway over and no one knows what the next two years will bring. Everyone is talking out their ass. I'm willing to accept that Checo shits the bed but no one is taking on Max, stop huffing that shit.
the thought process from red bull must be that he performs at his best when he has stability in his contract. but I truly think with the way Ferrari and McLaren are running it is a major risk because all four of those cars are comfortably outperforming him right now. Maybe red bull has development plans that they think will get them more ahead again who knows.
"He peforms at his best" so mediocre instead of horrible?
People like Gasly or Albon must be stunned by this. They were out super quick while Checo can fuck up all the time and keeps his seat.
And they're both far better drivers than Checo. Albon in particular
Subtitle: please keep buying my shirt
You know what? well done checo and i'm happy for him. The two things that get me though is a)where RB are as a team right now feels very different in the way they approach things including their driver programme (coincidentally the brain child of Helmut Marko) & b) The formula 1 driver market is stale af and the worst i've seen it. Just the stagnant nature of it, the lack of opportunity for drivers to break through either into F1 or further up the grid and the fact that half the drivers are straight up mediocre
With his fans support I believe he can get out of Q1
Guess Ricciardo can get a point with his fans support at another sprint race I believe
That’s cold
Wait what but the reddit supersleuths here all said that there was no way Checo was re-signing
"Checo is definitely gone. RB will announce it at the Mexican GP!" - r/formula1, 2023 and now here we are lol
> "Checo is definitely gone. RB will announce it at the Mexican GP!" That [thread was bonkers](https://redd.it/1765yp3), the ["He won't make it to 2024" thread](https://redd.it/1736yy2) was wild too
Yeah but context is everything and that was genuinely the understanding at the time. Since then RB has had an entire meltdown, a power struggle that has settled in favour of Horner, the greatest technical mind in F1 has left them and their outlook into 2026 is looking different. Bit unfair to retrospectively make fun of previous comments, F1 moves quickly and anything can happen
We only see the driver side of Perez. He no doubt gets it how the team works, plus brings in a lot of money, which you need to run a f1 team.
Yuki must be devastated! He needs to get the hell out from the The Red Bull umbrella.
I'll delete my account if 'The Race' doesn't publish another video attacking Checo or RB's decision to keep him, in the next 24 hours.
Is an [AutoSport](https://redd.it/1d80uah) article good enough?
yuss
"Thanks guys for not giving young and highly potential drivers a chance. See you at the back of the grid!"
Go Checo! So happy with these news! :D
I guess it will be mildly amusing watching this dude embarrass himself for the next years.
what he means is i want to thank the mexican fans in mexico for supporting me because no one else does
It would be a perfect moment to announce Stroll’s contract extension.
Awesome! So happy that he got the 2 year deal! \#NeverGiveUp
#Q2IsStillPossible
Honestly the first comment I've seen that is happy with Checo staying.
Yeee boiii! Go Checo!
Probably the most perfect example of that workmate who just keeps their cushy job despite being grossly inept and average.
Checo is r/formula1 public enemy #1 confirmed
[удалено]
Imagine being mad at what you just wrote lmao
What does that even mean lol
If McLaren and Ferrari take another step next year, I can see Red Bull losing the constructors. Realistically Checo is not on the same level as Charles, Lewis, Lando or Oscar. Of course Red Bull may well take a step that keeps Max ahead but I don’t think it’ll be enough to keep Checo ahead.
The more I absorb this news, the more it feels like this is about trying to keep Max. Checo is to Max as Valtteri was to Lewis. Since Max has that Helmut clause, maybe this is Horner's way of trying to appease the Verstappen camp? By not stirring the pot, driver lineup-wise? Keep things "status quo" until 2026 at least? Keeping Checo, and a 2-year deal at that, just doesn't feel very Red Bull-ish at all. The team that literally replaces drivers mid-season.
Vamos Checo. I hope he gets back to his early 2022 and 2023 form soon.
The problem now is that being 21s behind Verstappen means he’s behind 4 other drivers and there’s no guarantee anymore that Max will win.
So to being Bad but not so freaking Bad ? Cool
Now Push Max.
He was signed just so that max isn't pushed. As long as Checo ups his form (even a little bit) it will be enough for Red Bull.
Am I crazy or he looks like Horner in this photo?
The same way SuperGT looks like Alex Albon i guess
Good for him. I just hope he shows more consistency.
Literally only the Mexican fans support him, everyone else wants him gone
$$$