{"id":29226,"date":"2025-01-02T06:27:35","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T11:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=29226"},"modified":"2025-01-02T06:27:35","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T11:27:35","slug":"horner-red-bull-benefit-from-having-a-clear-lead-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/01\/02\/horner-red-bull-benefit-from-having-a-clear-lead-driver\/","title":{"rendered":"Horner: Red Bull benefit from having a clear “lead driver”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christian Horner believes that Red Bull will benefit in 2025 from having a clear hierarchy in their driver line-up. He argues that Ferrari will face difficulties in supporting both Lewis Hamilton<\/a> and Charles Leclerc.<\/p>\n

Red Bull opt for a different approach<\/h2>\n

Most top teams in F1 have two drivers that are evenly matched.<\/p>\n

Ferrari’s Hamilton-Leclerc combination is the latest example showing the demand amongst front-runners to have the strongest line-ups possible.<\/p>\n

Even before signing Hamilton, Ferrari<\/a> benefited from the services of a very competitive Carlos Sainz. McLaren also have a fierce inter-team rivalry, with Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris claiming several victories last season.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, it was Red Bull’s extremely one-sided driver line-up that was costly in the constructors Championship.<\/p>\n

Despite Verstappen winning the drivers title with a significant cushion, Sergio Perez<\/a> finished almost 300 points behind the Dutchman.<\/p>\n

This was a very different dynamic to Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes – whose driver pairings contributed similar points.<\/p>\n

Considering that Red Bull struggled to unlock performance last year, they need someone to reinforce Max Verstappen more than ever.<\/p>\n

Horner prefers to have a clear ‘lead driver’<\/h4>\n

Of course, their solution to this problem – to promote Liam Lawson<\/a> – is a hugely controversial one. Putting a driver with such limited experience into the main team is a huge risk.<\/p>\n

However, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner sees things differently.<\/p>\n

Despite missing out on last year’s constructors title, he believes that having a clear number 1 driver is the priority:<\/p>\n

“Max Verstappen is the most valuable asset in Formula 1. He\u2019s our lead driver,” <\/em>he told talkSPORT.<\/p>\n

“If you can get close to him, fantastic. But the reality is that the expectation is for Max to win.”<\/em><\/p>\n

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Max Verstappen with Oscar Piastri at the Austrian GP. (Photo by Mark Thompson\/Getty Images).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Red Bull team principal believes that having two drivers competing against each other is a challenge:<\/p>\n

“A team like Ferrari next year, for example, are going to have two drivers [Hamilton and Leclerc] that are going to be taking points off each other.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Which horse do you back? You have to back both of them, but that sometimes becomes divisive within a team.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Lawson under huge pressure<\/h4>\n

Ultimately, anyone who drives the same machinery as Max Verstappen faces a massive challenge. The Dutchman relentlessness in both qualifying and race makes him a nightmare to match – let alone outperform.<\/p>\n

With that said, Red Bull had plenty of other options in the market.<\/p>\n

Carlos Sainz was the biggest name available last season. The Milton Keynes squad chose not to sign him.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda<\/a> – whose experience and speed continues to rise – was also a viable candidate.<\/p>\n

For various reasons, whether justified or not, Red Bull lack faith in Tsunoda’s abilities to compete at the front.<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>