Red Bull chief says ‘phenomenal’ 300-race driver left the team after he ‘lost his motivation’

Follow us on Google Discover

Red Bull Racing are arguably in their most precarious position since rising to the top of Formula 1 during the 2022 season.

Max Verstappen is still a long way clear at the top of the Drivers’ Championship and could afford to retire from the next three races and still have a lead over the rest of the field.

However, Red Bull’s latest car doesn’t have the same advantage over the rest of the pack as its predecessors which has narrowed the gap in the Constructors’ Championship.

That’s because Sergio Perez has suffered a serious drop in form and Red Bull are putting pressure on Perez to improve before the summer break.

The Red Bull team has a unique habit of putting their drivers under pressure due to the nature of having a second squad competing in F1.

At other teams, if a driver is underperforming then the manufacturer have to make a call whether to call up a rookie midway through a season to step in.

However, Red Bull could immediately call on Daniel Ricciardo, Yuki Tsunoda or even Liam Lawson who has Formula 1 experience under his belt if they want to replace Perez.

Red Bull chief Paul Monaghan was a guest on the Beyond The Grid Podcast and spoke about another driver who ended up leaving the team.

When winning races and dominating seasons becomes a habit, it’s hard for a driver to come to terms with any drop in form when the car stops performing.

Monaghan has explained that Sebastian Vettel lost his motivation to drive for the team once they began to struggle during the 2014 season.

He was joined by Ricciardo that year and it became clear halfway through the season that the Australian had the upper hand over the multiple world champion.

Vettel decided it was the perfect opportunity to join Ferrari but unfortunately became the latest world-class driver to fail to deliver the title they’ve been desperately waiting for and after a final stint with Aston Martin retired with 300 Grand Prix race weekends under his belt.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Sebastian Vettel ‘lost his motivation’ in his final season at Red Bull

Asked about the 2014 season and Daniel Ricciardo’s arrival at the team, Monaghan said: “Seb [Vettel] was a four-time world champion and he was so committed for 09, 10, 11, 12, 13.

“And I saw him after the final race in 2009 when he lost the championship and there was a man devastated, he really had to work hard to pick himself up, his world fell apart.

“You think, OK, this is a pretty serious commitment here and he was phenomenal thereafter wasn’t he?

“But [in] 2014, we didn’t give him a car that he could defend his world championship with and I think he lost his motivation.

“Daniel [Ricciardo] ascended to be our more competitive driver in that period.

“Seb made a choice and off he went. Thank you very much for the years you gave us and good luck at Ferrari.”

Red Bull’s barren run before dominance returned with Max Verstappen

At his peak, Sebastian Vettel’s numbers while he was driving for Red Bull were staggering.

Between 2009 and the end of his run of titles in 2013, the German won 38 races and more than 60 podium finishes.

He accumulated well over 1000 points and the subsequent dip to 5^th in the standings in 2014 – behind teammate Ricciardo – would have been difficult to understand and very hard to take.

Vettel may have come to the conclusion already that he needed a new challenge and Ferrari presented the perfect opportunity.

It wasn’t long before Max Verstappen stepped up to the senior Red Bull team after Vettel’s exit and several other drivers followed the 37-year-old, unable to cope with the pressure put on them by the team and their rapid new teammate.