Red Bull came out victorious in the battle for the drivers’ championship in 2024 as Max Verstappen grabbed his fourth consecutive title.
The Dutchman grabbed nine wins as he beat Lando Norris by 63 points, locking out the title in Las Vegas. But his championship was far from plain sailing – Verstappen went 10 races without a win from Barcelona to Sao Paulo.
| Position | Drivers’ Championship | Points |
| 1 |
Max Verstappen |
437 |
| 2 |
Lando Norris |
374 |
| 3 |
Charles Leclerc |
356 |
| 4 |
Oscar Piastri |
292 |
| 5 |
Carlos Sainz Jr |
290 |
| 6 |
George Russell |
245 |
| 7 |
Lewis Hamilton |
223 |
| 8 |
Sergio Perez |
152 |
| 9 |
Fernando Alonso |
70 |
| 10 |
Pierre Gasly |
42 |
The situation at Red Bull was complex in 2024 as the team fell behind McLaren, Ferrari and even Mercedes at some points in the year in performance.
Adrian Newey’s departure was damaging as he sought a new adventure with Aston Martin. The internal war between Red Bull’s owners – sparked by the controversy surrounding Christian Horner at the start of the season – is said to be a key factor for his exit.
The politics at the Milton Keynes-based outfit threw the team into uncertainty – so much so that other key figures such as Helmut Marko and Verstappen were linked with moves away amid the drama.
The Dutchman pulled through despite the drop in performance in the RB20 to win the 2024 championship. However, Red Bull lost the constructors’ title as they finished third – and there was a big reason for that.
Gerhard Berger says no one understood why Red Bull gave Sergio Perez a new contract
While Verstappen won nine races and grabbed 14 podiums, teammate Sergio Perez did not stand on the podiums after securing four in the first five races. In fact, he did not finish in the top five after the Miami Grand Prix.
Despite this poor run of form, Red Bull offered Perez a new two-year contract in the hope things would improve – if anything it got worse. The Mexican finished eighth in the standings, ultimately costing the team in the Constructors’ Championship as they finished behind McLaren and Ferrari.
| Position | Constructors’ Standings | Points |
| 1 |
McLaren Racing |
666 |
| 2 |
Scuderia Ferrari |
652 |
| 3 |
Red Bull Racing |
589 |
| 4 |
Mercedes-AMG Petronas |
468 |
| 5 |
Aston Martin F1 Team |
94 |
| 6 |
Alpine F1 Team |
65 |
| 7 |
Haas F1 Team |
58 |
| 8 |
Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team |
46 |
| 9 |
Williams F1 Team |
17 |
| 10 |
Sauber F1 Team |
4 |
Perez left Red Bull at the end of the season as his position within the team became untenable. Speaking with Auto Motor und Sport, ex-F1 driver and former Toro Rosso owner Gerhard Berger shared that Perez’s contract extension was ‘not understood by the experts’.
Asked whether the political war affected Red Bull’s season, Berger replied: “It’s often the beginning of the end when issues like this are kicked off.
“Formula 1 is so complex and so competitive that you can only be successful if everyone in the team pulls together, if everyone is in agreement and communicates well with each other. The Red Bull brand has always radiated cheerfulness and a cool image.
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“Suddenly everything has changed. Completely atypical for the team, there are no longer any clear statements. Let’s take the example of Perez. It was clear that he was no longer performing. The fact that he was nevertheless given a contract again was not understood by the experts.
“There may have been reasons, such as marketing constraints or the contract situation. But when things didn’t get any better after that, he was given three more races and then two more and a decision was avoided.
“I couldn’t recognise a clear line. In the Mateschitz era, Red Bull was always famous for clarity”.
How will Liam Lawson fare against Max Verstappen at Red Bull?
Heading into 2025, Perez has been replaced by Liam Lawson. The Kiwi driver has made 11 sub appearances for Racing Bulls (previously AlphaTauri) in 2023 and 2024.
Lawson snubbed teammate Yuki Tsunoda for the seat, despite having less experience and being generally outperformed by the Japanese driver. Nevertheless, Red Bull have trusted the 23-year-old to go up against Verstappen as Tsunoda faces a fifth season in Faenza.
Lawson will be under pressure to deliver results and many do not think he will be up to the challenge. Berger thinks Red Bull should have signed Sainz to replace Perez after his performances in his final season with Ferrari.
The Kiwi driver is only contracted until the end of the season and with Red Bull being notorious for making brutal driver changes mid-season, Lawson is potentially at risk of suffering that fate.
Tsunoda is Red Bull’s ‘last resort’ to replace Lawson if he struggles. The team will keep tabs on the Japanese driver as he goes up against Isack Hadjar at Racing Bulls.
