Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Harte
I' m not saying that this is the reason, but is it possible that youngsters are not joining (or are being advised not to join) the drivers' programme as it had lead to a dead end for some past joiners?
If so, it could explain Red Bull's current predicament.
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by BertMk2
That's the worrying bit - has Red Bull's driver program got a huge hole in it? A few years back drivers were coming through the ranks thick and fast and Red Bull couldn't place them in their teams fast enough - drivers were being ditched without really ever getting a decent crack at it or farmed out to other championships. Now though they've brought Hartley back into the fold (seemingly only to ditch him again) and haven't got anybody else to slot in to fill the gap. Have they got less young drivers or are they dropping them sooner?
|
It seems the answer is a mix of both according to Chris Medland on Racer.com. Lando was attractive to Red Bull early but he chose McLaren, Jack Aitken was approached but chose Renault, and Russell is firmly entrenched at MB so that's the big names in the "minors" so to speak tied up with their respective teams. Now the debate Red Bull vs McLaren at this point is a valid what if/what could be proposition. But he doesn't name a single futures driver, just the 4 they currently have in Ricciardo, Verstappen, Sainz and Gasly if he continues to improve. And if RB moves to Honda power what's the likelihood Sainz stays with Renault for 2019?