New teammate for Verstappen: How did Max defeat his predecessors

The most competitive teammate Verstappen had at Red Bull was Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian had been racing for the team since 2014, the year he beat reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel.

Verstappen was promoted from Toro Rosso ahead of the 2016 Spanish GP. The Dutchman won his debut race for the team in Barcelona, but his teammate was much more consistent and finished third in the championship.

After Verstappen was also defeated by Ricciardo in the 2017 standings, he completely turned it around the following season. The Renault engines in the Red Bull were not exactly reliable, and Ricciardo had a lot of bad luck during the season. The veteran was then outscored for the first time by his younger teammate. At the end of the 2018 season, the Australian left the team to join Renault.

This led to Pierre Gasly, who performed well at Toro Rosso in 2018, being promoted to Red Bull. However, the Frenchman was immediately sent back to the Faenza-based team before the end of the season. Rookie Alexander Albon was then given the opportunity to race alongside Verstappen from the 2019 Belgian Grand Prix onwards.

Albon made an immediate impression. He pulled off some daring overtakes and scored more points than Gasly. Still, he somewhat lacked consistency and often didn’t extract everything from the car in qualifying. In the races, however, he often gained many positions.

In 2020, the Thai-British driver remained inconsistent. He took podiums at Mugello and Bahrain—something Gasly had not managed to do with Red Bull—but was also involved in many incidents. In the end, Albon even finished behind Gasly in the championship, despite the Red Bull being a faster car than the Alpine. Verstappen finished third and won three races that year. All in all, Red Bull wasn’t convinced and signed Sergio Perez for the following seasons.

Perez proved at the end of 2020 that he could finish off a race, winning the race in Sakhir in surprising fashion with a Racing Point car. Lawrence Stroll’s team had no place for him in 2021, which led Red Bull to contract the experienced driver.

With Perez by his side, Verstappen won his first world title. Although the Mexican often couldn’t stay close to his teammate, he occasionally made life quite difficult for the Mercedes drivers. The most famous example is the race in Turkey, where Perez delivered a defensive masterclass in a duel with Lewis Hamilton. In Abu Dhabi, he also held up Verstappen’s British rival for a long time to bring the Dutchman back into the fight.

In 2022, new regulations came in and Perez stayed with the team. Red Bull ultimately had a dominant season, although it initially seemed that Ferrari had also built a strong car. Verstappen secured a second title with a comfortable margin over Charles Leclerc, Perez won two Grands Prix and finished third in the championship. Once again, the Mexican proved his value to the team.

He continued that run in 2023. Verstappen won 19 races with Red Bull’s dominant car that season. Perez did something in Baku that no other driver managed at the Austrian team. He beat Verstappen outright. Earlier that year, he also won on the streets of Jeddah. Still, he finished well behind Verstappen in the standings. The Mexican scored 285 points; his teammate amassed no fewer than 575.

In 2024, Red Bull didn’t have a dominant car. While Verstappen became world champion again, Perez’s performances were highly inconsistent. The Mexican ended the season with less than half of Verstappen’s points. This allowed McLaren to capture the constructors’ title. In the end, Red Bull made the call: Verstappen would get a new teammate in 2025.

Many were surprised when it was announced that Liam Lawson would be promoted to Red Bull. The New Zealander hadn’t even completed a full F1 season yet, but he impressed Helmut Marko and Christian Horner enough to warrant the step up. However, his adventure was already over just two rounds in, as the Austrians opted for Yuki Tsunoda instead.

Lawson didn't score a point at Red Bull, and Tsunoda indeed did somewhat better than his predecessor. Still, the Japanese driver currently sits only twelfth in the championship, while the RB21 in Verstappen’s hands has often been the fastest car since the summer break. In short, Tsunoda didn’t convince the team either and will make way for Isack Hadjar in 2026.

Want to stay up-to-date with what happens in the F1 paddock? Then GPblog's F1 Paddock Update video is the perfect way to do it. Subscribe to GPblog's YouTube channel and turn on notifications to never miss the latest episodes.

Follow us on Spotify as well!