Column | Mercedes and Red Bull's "second driver" problems

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix wrapped up an incredible season of titanic battling between Red Bull Racing, Mercedes and their drivers. However, an issue was clear to see from the split of the plaudits at the end of the grand prix, which both teams have encountered for years.

Valtteri Bottas

Valtteri Bottas’ incredible efforts since joining the Mercedes team in 2017 have allowed the team to claim 5 successive world championships. By supporting a positive atmosphere through a harmonious partnership with his teammate (sorely needed after the Hamilton-Rosberg fallout), both maximised their opportunities and therefore maximised team gain.

On occasion, Valtteri has fallen wide of the mark in assisting his teammate on track. Bottas’ absence in protecting Hamilton was clear to see for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Verstappen was too easily able to box with no repercussions, with enough of a gap to teammate Sergio Perez. Theoretically, if Bottas was close enough, the Finn could better help his Mercedes teammate by attempting to defend his position, which would slow down both cars and neutralise any efforts from the Red Bull camp before they began.

Perez

In Sergio Perez’s case, things are ever so slightly different. Being parachuted in for the 2021 season, he was regarded as the one capable of solving the “second driver issue” at the Red Bull team. Over the course of this season, he has proved his worth. Assisting in moving aside for Verstappen and claiming solid podiums such as in France and his career second win have assisted in Red Bull picking points where they could. A stand out example would be Perez’s sterling efforts to defend his position from Lewis Hamilton, allowing Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen to close up.

However, the points percentage shows the continued deficit between the teammates. With only  32% of Red Bull’s points being gained by Sergio Perez, the team has fallen narrowly short of the Constructor’s Title. While wins as a significantly larger points return is notable (as Verstappen had won many), it shows that the second drivers for the Austrian outfit leave a lot to be desired.

Overall

In fairness, it is also easy to see why such a deficit exists to their teammates. With Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, we were witnessing two generational talents performing at such a high level, dwarfing the competition that surrounded them. Yet it still shows the championship teams still have areas where they desperately need to improve. Mercedes may fill this gap by bringing in the well-spoken Briton, George Russell, but Red Bull may still need to search long and hard for a solution in their second car.