Red Bull Racing Eyeing Stability as Verstappen Faces Penalty Risk
As the Canadian Grand Prix approaches, Red Bull Racing is concerned about potential penalties that could hinder star driver Max Verstappen. Currently sitting at 11 penalty points following an incident with George Russell at the Spanish Grand Prix, Verstappen is one point away from a race ban, a situation team principal Christian Horner describes as one they are keen to avoid.
In the event of a suspension, Horner confirmed that Red Bull has a robust roster of drivers at their disposal. "We’ve got enough drivers to draw upon from the pool of Red Bull drivers," he stated. Notably, this flexibility is due to Red Bull’s ownership of Junior team, Racing Bulls, providing access to four full-time Formula 1 drivers.
Yuki Tsunoda’s recent developments were touched upon, with Horner indicating that a qualifying crash in Imola had impacted the Japanese driver’s confidence. However, additional seat time, including a test using the RB19, is expected to facilitate a positive rebound. "He’s closer to Max on the metrics; hopefully, with time and confidence, performances will come," Horner remarked.
On the matter of substitutions for Verstappen, the most likely candidates are Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar, with Ayumu Iwasa on standby. Red Bull aims to minimize disruption to junior driver Arvid Lindblad, who currently sits in second place in the Formula 2 standings, just eight points behind the championship leader.
Lindblad, who recently received approval for an F1-grade superlicence despite being under the FIA’s minimum age limit, is viewed as a promising prospect by Horner, who noted, "Arvid Lindblad is at the very beginning of his journey in Formula 1."
As the team heads into this critical race weekend, the implications of Verstappen’s penalty status will remain a focal point for Red Bull, highlighting both the pressure on their star driver and the underlying strength of their driver development program.
