How ought to we interpret Pink Bull’s strategy to choosing drivers – notably the query of who to put alongside its star expertise Max Verstappen?
Most groups seem to hunt out the most effective pair out there to them. Ferrari, for instance, already had a powerful driver line-up in 2023 however that didn’t cease them elbowing Carlos Sainz Jnr apart the moment seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton grew to become out there.
There are arguably solely two groups whose coverage is to not run the 2 best entries out there. One is clearly Aston Martin, the place Lance Stroll seemingly has a seat for so long as he likes whereas his father owns the operation.
Then there may be Pink Bull. You may’t fault their dedication to bringing new drivers into F1: they purchased a second staff for exactly that goal, one thing none of their rivals have achieved. This coverage has yielded terrific abilities within the form of Sebastian Vettel and, now, Verstappen.
Vettel spent a lot of his profession alongside Mark Webber, then high-tailed it to Ferrari after one win-less season alongside the spectacular Daniel Ricciardo. However the rise of Verstappen prompted Ricciardo to maneuver on and since then Pink Bull have been unable to fill the second seat with a sufficiently aggressive member of their junior staff.
Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon got here and went; now within the house of 12 months they’ve bought by means of Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda. The one driver who held the seat for an considerable size of time was Sergio Perez. His four-year stint was by far the longest of Verstappen’s staff mates, however he was not a product of Pink Bull’s junior programme.
Even so, for a lot of final season it appeared unfathomable that Pink Bull had caught with him for therefore lengthy. The yawning hole between Perez and Verstappen in qualifying meant the lead Pink Bull driver scored the overwhelming majority of the staff’s factors. However in 2025 Pink Bull achieved little by changing him with first Lawson, then Tsunoda.
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Over the second half of final 12 months, Perez was habitually three tenths of a second or extra behind Verstappen in qualifying, typically extra however very not often much less (equivalent to at Monza or Baku). Tsunoda’s one-lap tempo was little totally different. He started the season fairly a bit additional off, however so did Lawson, earlier than being dumped after simply two appearances at tracks he had by no means visited earlier than.
Evaluating the 2 Pink Bull drivers immediately is difficult as for a lot of the season their vehicles had been in fairly totally different specs. This wasn’t fully by design: Tsunoda made life more durable for himself with a high-speed crash at Imola because the ensuing harm meant he needed to run older elements for longer.
It’s additionally true that the size of the lap time hole Verstappen had over his staff mate damage Tsunoda extra in 2025. The sector was typically so shut on the finish of the season that the few tenths of a second between them translated into Verstappen combating for the entrance row whereas Tsunoda dropped out in Q1. It was an identical case at different groups elsewhere later within the season, notably between the Ferrari drivers.
Like Perez, Tsunoda additionally needed to run his race weekends in a approach which greatest helped his staff mate. Usually his failure to progress past the primary two rounds of qualifying restricted his usefulness, however there have been events the place he might play the staff sport, notably in Mexico and Abu Dhabi.
For all that, Tsunoda’s uncooked numbers on the finish of what could also be his last season in Formulation 1 look appalling when taken in isolation. His haul of simply 30 factors to Verstappen’s 385 of their 22 rounds collectively interprets to the most important ever factors hole between a pair of staff mates by a great distance.
How significantly better would he have carried out had he made an earlier begin within the RB21 and took part in pre-season testing? Would Lawson have been a lot additional behind if Pink Bull had saved him within the automobile? Pink Bull clearly retain some religion in him as it isn’t he however Tsunoda who’s with no drive for the 2026 F1 season.
There was nothing about Tsunoda’s season which indicated both he or Lawson had been your best option of alternative for Perez. However Pink Bull’s unfathomable driver swap compromised each so badly it will be honest on both to jot down them off on the power of 2025 alone. Future generations questioning what to make of Tsunoda’s terrible season alongside Verstappen could be greatest suggested to disregard it.
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Unrepresentative comparisons omitted. Destructive worth: Verstappen was sooner; Optimistic worth: Tsunoda was sooner
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