Parc Ferme: F1 Driver Dilemmas

His ability to control the car on the edge has allowed Red Bull to develop the RB20 in a manner that is optimal. Whereas the other teams have to settle for one that's comfortable for the driver.

The disparity in performance between the Dutch F1 champion and Sergio Perez highlighted this fact throughout the 2024 season. However, the penny has only recently dropped with some of the team's talent pickers.

Consequently, a number of them are frantically trying to cover off some of their recent driver decisions.

Surprisingly, it's Red Bull that seems to have the biggest problem. Promoting Liam Lawson to the premier team was the only logical option. Something of an indictment when he has only just gotten his feet under the F1 table.

The jury is still out on the Kiwi, and some would parable Verstappen's rapid rise did him no harm. However, no one is seriously claiming he is from that mould.

This unsatisfactory state of affairs could have been avoided if Daniel Ricciardo had been dropped earlier from the junior team and if they weren't saddled with Yuki Tsunoda.

The former may well have happened earlier if not for the death of Dietrich Mateschitz, an event that weakened the Good Doctor's grip on such affairs within the team.

However, he seems to have a plan in the form of Arvid Lindblad and is fast-tracking him to a 2025 super license.

The young Brit/Swede does have the whiff of Max about him, but it is only a whiff. I'm looking forward to seeing how he performs in Formula 2.

When you compare their karting pedigree, Lindblad doesn't come close, but then, who does? If he can deliver on his promise, then Isack Hadjer is probably under the greatest pressure out of all the Red Bull drivers.

Next up is Mercedes. The volume on the Kimi Antonelli promotion machine has been significantly dialed down recently.

A smart, if not belated, move based on his Monza debut and F2 results. Antonelli may come good, or he could stall.

Some may say the young Italian should have been tenderized at Williams first—a process that worked well for Russell. Still, that bet has been made. To cover it off, Toto Wolff has re-signed Valtteri Bottas as a reserve driver.

I wonder if we'll see that insurance policy being cashed in during 2025...

Red Bull are not the only team to fall foul here, and surprisingly, it's Alpine who seem to have been asleep at the wheel.

The Enstone outfit has been a lot sharper since the arrival of Flavio Briatore and Ollie Oaks. It seems, though, somebody, somewhere, wanted to prove they could hang onto an Aussie driver for once by confirming Jack Doohan for 2025.

Whilst having a great work ethic and being an all-around nice guy, Jack is no Oscar Piastri.

I presume no one ran this past Flavio (maybe he was having an afternoon nap at the time). Whatever the case, he has now signed Franco Colapinto.

Jack didn't have the most promising of showings in Abu Dhabi, and it's debatable how long Flavio will wait before he is back on simulator duties and Colapinto is in the real thing.

Colapinto and Gabriel Bortoleto are the two shining lights to emerge on the F1 race scene. The former now has a track record, although certain entries in it are undesirable. Yes, he delivered on arrival, but it required him to repeatedly sail close to the wind. Unsurprisingly, this eventually led to him running aground and ramping up expensive hull repairs.

Flavio probably put that down to the pressure of not having an F1 seat for 2025, but that problem has been kinda resolved.

Parc Ferme would have gone for Bortoleto and is amazed that he and others let this one slip through their fingers, especially when you consider he's under Fernando Alonso's management.

However, we should watch this space. It wouldn't be the first time Flavio nicked prodigious talent from under the nose of another competitor.