Red Bull ended the Mercedes era of dominance in 2021, with Max Verstappen winning his first world championship.
The Austrian team made a step forward that year and took the fight to Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton from round one at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Sergio Perez was far behind Verstappen that year and only stood on the podium five times over the season. He is no longer with the team, and Red Bull have dropped Perez to replace him with Liam Lawson.
The 2021 season is a classic championship battle between Max Verstappen and Hamilton, with multiple clashes and superb battles between the pair.
Perez was a key part of Red Bull’s failure to win both championships that season but Alex Kalinauckas explained why the Austrian team aren’t overly concerned about it.
Red Bull ‘don’t really care’ about losing the Constructors’ Championship in 2021 as their pace was unexpected
The 2021 championship battle between Verstappen and Hamilton was superb, as the pair battled every weekend.
They banged wheels at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix before controversial crashes took hold of the title fight in Britain and at Monza.
Verstappen won the championship in Abu Dhabi amid controversial circumstances at the end of a dramatic season.
READ MORE: The one-word statement Sergio Perez made in September that has now backfired horribly
Red Bull anticipated a strong start to the ground effect rules in 2022, but they weren’t expecting a championship battle in the previous year.
Autosport journalist Kalinauckas explained that Red Bull weren’t worried about only winning the Drivers’ Championship.
He said on the Autosport YouTube channel: “It’s interesting with Red Bull in the Constructors Championship because my sense from speaking to people in the team is we don’t really care about the lost Constructions Championship in 2021, which is down to Perez, not scoring as many points.
“Is there parallels with McLaren and not winning the drivers this year? It’s almost like that one for Max, obviously the controversial circumstances and everything we won’t get into.
“That one came a bit early. They were expecting to be, I think, the top dog from ’22. To get the drivers in ’21 was this amazing bonus. But the fact that they didn’t get both, it’s like, oh, okay, that’s fine.”
Perez was off the pace compared to Verstappen and made critical errors, such as in the Sprint at the British Grand Prix.
This cost the Mexican points and handed Mercedes the advantage in the Constructors’ Championship over the year.
Liam Lawson needs to deliver immediately as he replaces Sergio Perez for next year
Lawson is stepping up from RB to the main Red Bull team for next season, which is a risky move after just 11 Grands Prix of experience.
The New Zealander is very quick, and Lawson has impressed RB CEO Peter Bayer since the pair first started working together at the Italian team.
Verstappen has been the clear number one driver at Red Bull over the past few years, which can create a mental struggle for the Dutchman’s teammates.
Lawson needs to deliver from the outset in Australia, as McLaren and Ferrari, in particular, will be very tough to beat in 2025.
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