Red Bull receive major 'undriveable' Max Verstappen warning

Former F1 driver Christian Danner has warned Red Bull that prioritising Max Verstappen has made its car "undriveable" for whoever is alongside the Dutchman. 

It was announced on Thursday morning that Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda would swap seats ahead of next weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, marking the quickest driver change in Red Bull history. 

Lawson spent the first two races towards the back and qualified in 20th for both the China sprint race and the Chinese Grand Prix. 

The team has insisted the the driver change has taken place due to needing Tsunoda's experience to improve the RB21; however, Danner has stressed that its second driver is not the source of the team's problems. 

Danner pins all of Red Bull's issues on its car, with the German pointing out that not only is the car designed to suit Verstappen, hampering any other Red Bull driver, but that even the reigning world champion is failing to win races. 

"Red Bull has a double problem," Danner told AvD Motorsport Magazin. "It’s not enough up front for Max to win races. That’s the biggest problem on the surface. But it’s also very difficult at the back.

"It was thought that Sergio Perez had forgotten how to drive and so he was replaced by a young savage. And what happened? The results that Lawson brings together are even worse. You have to look very closely. What’s really happening?

"Alexander Albon once explained Max Verstappen’s driving style very, very well in an interview. Albon said that he wants a car that is active and aggressive on the front axle. It was the same with Max, but a completely different universe of biting front axle.

"At the beginning you think you can drive it, but the longer you drive it, the more undriveable it becomes for people who don’t have the talent to drive a car around the track with just the front axle."

New Red Bull approach needed

Verstappen is known to prefer a car with a very aggressive front end, something Red Bull has designed its cars around for several years. 

The strategy of designing a car to suit Verstappen has worked in the 27-year-old's favour, based on his four consecutive drivers' titles. 

However, with Verstappen struggling to fight McLaren and with no second Red Bull driver having won a race since 2023, Danner has raised a crucial question.

In regard to Verstappen preferring a car with an aggressive front, Danner said: "That reminds me of what Gerhard Berger and Johnny Herbert, who drove with Michael Schumacher, told me.

"Gerhard took over Michael’s Benetton and said he got in and thought someone was trying to kill him. The car was absolutely undriveable, but Michael won the World Championship with it.

"It’s a question of driving style. It’s a philosophy that obviously only very, very, very few Formula 1 racing drivers have mastered.

"That doesn’t mean that another driver with a different style can’t drive just as fast. But what Verstappen demands from his car is undriveable for normal drivers.

"What should the team do? Listen to the top man and continue to ensure that he gets what he wants? Or make the whole thing a bit more rounded so that the second driver also benefits?"