Former F1 Driver Blasts Red Bull For Mid-Season Driver Swap Trend After Daniel Ricciardo Sacking

Saajan Jogia | Oct 16, 2024

The Oracle Red Bull Racing team stand for the Japanese national anthem on the grid prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Japan at Suzuka International Racing Course on April 07, 2024 in Suzuka, Japan. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) / Red Bull Content Pool

Former F1 driver Jenson Button, who currently races in the World Endurance Championship (WEC), has called out Red Bull for its famous trend of swapping underperforming drivers mid-season. Button called it a "weird" habit since a driver needs at least an entire season to prove their capabilities.

Last year, Red Bull appointed Daniel Ricciardo as a replacement for Nyck de Vries in its junior team, VCARB (formerly known as AlphaTauri), due to performance issues. However, following an unimpressive showing from Ricciardo this season, the team has decided to replace him with junior driver Liam Lawson.

This isn't the first instance of such treatment, as a long history of drivers have faced similar fates, even during Red Bull's inaugural year in the premier class, when Christian Klien was sidelined from Grands Prix in both the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Button described the trend as "unusual" and something he had never encountered in his career.

Notably, Red Bull's rival teams Mercedes and McLaren haven't followed the trend since they have never made a mid-season driver swap on performance grounds. Looking at Red Bull's track record of changing drivers in between a Formula 1 season, Button revealed that it makes him uncomfortable. Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, he said:

"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].

"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.'

"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? 

"It’s a championship, and it’s how many points you can score through that season, not just halfway through – but they’ve always done it a different way."

After Ricciardo, the driver under Red Bull's scanner seems to be Sergio Perez, who has not won a single race this season, as opposed to his teammate and championship leader Max Verstappen's tally of seven victories so far in 2024. The Mexican driver's poor form cut short Red Bull's collection of points, as McLaren took the top spot in the Constructors' Championship after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

While Perez secured a contract extension with Red Bull in June, the team seems to be forming a new strategy. It appears to be considering including a junior driver alongside Verstappen in the future, who can maintain a narrow to the Dutchman.