12/05/2016
NEWS STORY
It's fair to say that the driver-swap at Red Bull has divided the paddock, and not for the first time the Austrian team, and its treatment of its young charges, has come under attack.
Whilst Daniil Kvyat was telling reporters that he's not sure why he was demoted, team boss Christian Horner admits the move was inevitable.
"Many people will judge it to be harsh or unjust, possibly," he admitted to reporters in Barcelona today. "But Red Bull is in a unique position where we have four cockpits in Red Bull and Toro Rosso, and at the moment they're four relatively competitive cockpits.
"We have an awful lot of information about the drivers," he continued. "They come through the junior programme, we see how they develop on the simulator, we analyse their performance in the car, we generate a huge amount of data, knowledge, information, together with other testing that we do with the drivers.
"We came to the conclusion that Daniil had been struggling a little bit for form compared to his team-mate, there had been a consistent pattern. The discussion arose about Max and within the contractual situation that we have with these drivers and the four cockpits we had a unique opportunity to shuffle the order.
"So, rather than waiting until later in the year we elected to get on and do that in time for the European season and thus effectively switch the two drivers."
Asked if the first lap incident at Sochi effectively signed Kvyat's 'death warrant', which would subsequently be delivered by Red Bull's 'Lord High Executioner', Helmut Marko, over th phone whilst the Russian was watching Game of Thrones, Horner said: "The accident in Russia for many people is seen as a catalyst but there's obviously an awful lot more that is considered than just one Sunday afternoon.
"As I said, we're privy to an awful lot of information with these guys. It wasn't a decision that was taken lightly, and it was given a huge amount of consideration. There were other factors as well regarding the longer term and future of the Red Bull Racing team regarding its driver line-up.
"You could wait until the test after Silverstone, you could wait until the end of the year," he admitted, "but we elected that actually, if we're going to do it, let's get on and do it in time for the European season.
"Both the drivers were in the factory on Friday of last week testing in the simulator for their respective teams. While it might seem unnatural for another team, the fact that Red Bull does have these four cockpits, it allows us essentially to have that flexibility and deem what we see as putting our best foot forward.
"It's a harsh decision," he admitted. "Feeling sorry for Dani, on one hand you can see that he's not driving a Red Bull car, but he's still driving in a competitive car in Formula 1. I think he takes some solace from the fact that any other driver who hasn't succeeded at Toro Rosso or Red Bull hasn't been retained. Formula 1 costs Red Bull tens of millions of pounds, if we didn't believe in him as a talent he wouldn't have been retained. I think putting him into Toro Rosso will enable him to recover his confidence and form and of course we can evaluate it from there."
And then there's young Max.
"Max is, make no mistake about it, one of the hottest properties in Formula 1 at this point in time. It's only natural that other teams would show interest in a driver that's demonstrating that kind of ability and talent. It also kills off the driver market regarding Red Bull drivers, certainly for the foreseeable future.
"I think a Ricciardo-Verstappen line-up potentially is one of the, if not the, strongest pairing of future years," he continued. "Of course that depends on how things develop and pan out and how regulation changes come in for next year. With the power units hopefully converging, that provides some opportunities for this team over the next couple of seasons."
Asked if there was pressure from Verstappen's team, the Briton said: "No, there was no pressure at all. Max was actually more surprised than Daniil was, to be honest with you. There was no positioning or pressure from Max's side or management in any way."
But might it be too early to put him up against Ricciardo, one of the best drivers on the grid at present?
"Certain people said it was too early for him when he came in at 16," said Horner. "I think he's proved to be one of the most exciting things currently about Formula 1 in the paddock. He's demonstrated that he's got a great amount of natural talent, great natural ability. He can overtake, he can race. He's got an awful lot to learn but he's got a very mature head on young shoulders. Certainly, everything I've seen in his development so far has impressed me enormously and I think that curve will continue."
"He's growing as a driver but also as a young man as well. When he gains more experience his outlook is going to change on certain things but you can see this absolute desire burning within him at the moment, and competitiveness, and of course a huge amount of talent.
"Of course, he's going up against one of the very best drivers in F1 as a benchmark and that is Daniel Ricciardo. The way Daniel's driving at the moment I don't believe there's a better driver in Formula 1. The thought of the pairing is fantastically exciting for us."
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