[M5Rick]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

$16 Million ?

Source is the Dutch article => https://www.gpfans.com/nl/f1-nieuws/...z-af-te-komen/

He can stay and not be paid with access to the box while another driver Yuki? gets the 11 seat

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

He can stay and not be paid with access to the box while another driver Yuki? gets the 11 seat

Yuki was testing today (I think it was today) in the RB20 . It was a tire test .

I'm sure the data will show , Yuki is faster than the KitKat man ..

[dfox]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

According to the Dutch article , the KitKat man wants $50-75 Million (!)
Yeah. The Mexican is a true shame for motorsports..

Checo is going to lose a lot more than the RB salary if they decide to cut his contract early. Absolutely nobody in this world would do anything differently. He got a signed contract and is owed a lot of money. Pay him out, or let him race. Anyone saying he should retire, or take less money, is crazy. They wouldn't do the same thing in the same situation.

Or maybe build him a car he can actually drive. 2020 he was 3rd. 2021 he was 4th. 2022 he was 3rd. 2023 he was 2nd. This year he was 2nd until Italy, when Max also started having issues with the car.

I think Checo is hoping that the car next year could be better and he'll prove everyone wrong. I also think that Horner knows the car was crap for the second half of this year and isn't blaming Checo, knowing that Max is driving around the car because he's a once-in-a-generation talent but knows that most everyone else would struggle just like Checo.

[dfox]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

I'm sure the data will show , Yuki is faster than the KitKat man ..

Checo got zero pressure laps in on the new tires? Including the new C6 compound?

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by dfox

I dunno, Max is constantly coming in to defend Checo... Combined with the comments from the mechanics about Checo having a different car/setup, there's clearly a lot more going on in the background than what the media is pushing into our faces.

https://www.si.com/fannation/racing/...t-01jekj9y2knf

It's all about money. Lots of money.

Did you notice the press release Nestlé issued last month about its Kitkat deal with F1 ?
https://www.nestle.com/media/news/ki...e-bar-formula1

F1 and Nestlé have an interest that Perez stays on board. Of course, they cannot interfere with the negotiations but Carlos $lim, Nestlé and F1 are elephants in the room.

[wizardofOz]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

$16 Million ?

Source is the Dutch article => https://www.gpfans.com/nl/f1-nieuws/...z-af-te-komen/

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

According to the Dutch article , the KitKat man wants $50-75 Million (!)
Yeah. The Mexican is a true shame for motorsports..

He can take 16 euros if it helps him to leave

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by dfox

Checo is going to lose a lot more than the RB salary if they decide to cut his contract early. Absolutely nobody in this world would do anything differently. He got a signed contract and is owed a lot of money. Pay him out, or let him race. Anyone saying he should retire, or take less money, is crazy. They wouldn't do the same thing in the same situation.

Or maybe build him a car he can actually drive. 2020 he was 3rd. 2021 he was 4th. 2022 he was 3rd. 2023 he was 2nd. This year he was 2nd until Italy, when Max also started having issues with the car.

I think Checo is hoping that the car next year could be better and he'll prove everyone wrong. I also think that Horner knows the car was crap for the second half of this year and isn't blaming Checo, knowing that Max is driving around the car because he's a once-in-a-generation talent but knows that most everyone else would struggle just like Checo.

Yes . The KitKat man has a signed 2025 Red Bull contract . A RB20 seat and for next year a RB21 seat is bought by KitKats ,the Lebanese/Mexican Carlos Slim ,Telcel, Claro, Infinitum ect...
Worth ?
$50 Million of Mexican politics aka. sponsor deals (!)

And that doesn't matter , what matters is that he really s@cks in every single qualifying and race (!)
Any driver would be better than the KitKat man .

If the Red Bull Team wants to lose the 2025 WCC (again)!
Then they should keep the KitKat man in the 2025 Red Bull RB21 seat ..

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by wizardofOz

He can take 16 euros if it helps him to leave

For me , he's worth less than 16 Euros .

[dfox]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Yes . The KitKat man has a signed 2025 Red Bull contract . A RB20 seat and for next year a RB21 seat is bought by KitKats ,the Lebanese/Mexican Carlos Slim ,Telcel, Claro, Infinitum ect...
Worth ?
$50 Million of Mexican politics aka. sponsor deals (!)

And that doesn't matter , what matters is that he really s@cks in every single qualifying and race (!)
Any driver would be better than the KitKat man .

If the Red Bull Team wants to lose the 2025 WCC (again)!
Then they should keep the KitKat man in the 2025 Red Bull RB21 seat ..

If they want the constructors championship, then RB should focus on building a car that can also be driven by their #2 driver, not just their #1 driver.

2020 - 3rd
2021 - 4th
2022 - 3rd
2023 - 2nd

These aren't the results of someone who can't drive. His 2024 results are because of a crappy car.

[dfox]

Originally Posted by Artemis

It's all about money. Lots of money.

Did you notice the press release Nestlé issued last month about its Kitkat deal with F1 ?
https://www.nestle.com/media/news/ki...e-bar-formula1

F1 and Nestlé have an interest that Perez stays on board. Of course, they cannot interfere with the negotiations but Carlos $lim, Nestlé and F1 are elephants in the room.

The money is absolutely a factor. RB would lose monumental amounts of money if they cut his contract. That's not Checo's fault, that's RB's fault. Same with the crappy car they've given him to drive, that by his own teams' admission is not the same as what Max was driving, for better or worse.

The media needs to leave the guy alone.

[G30M]

Originally Posted by Artemis

It's all about money. Lots of money.

Did you notice the press release Nestlé issued last month about its Kitkat deal with F1 ?
https://www.nestle.com/media/news/ki...e-bar-formula1

F1 and Nestlé have an interest that Perez stays on board. Of course, they cannot interfere with the negotiations but Carlos $lim, Nestlé and F1 are elephants in the room.

err ... who gave Checo the contract? if he has a contract then both parties will fulfill their obligations. not sure what Checo's obligations are though, probably something like - don't overtake Max and always pay Max on time.

so if that's the case Checo has fulfilled all his obligations

[Artemis]

Originally Posted by dfox

The money is absolutely a factor. RB would lose monumental amounts of money if they cut his contract. That's not Checo's fault, that's RB's fault.

Originally Posted by G30M

err ... who gave Checo the contract? if he has a contract then both parties will fulfill their obligations. not sure what Checo's obligations are though, probably something like - don't overtake Max and always pay Max on time.
so if that's the case Checo has fulfilled all his obligations

That's what I already commented yesterday (see marked text).

Perez has Red Bull Racing in a judo hold - he's calling the shots right now.

Horner can put a 'note to self' on his bathroom mirror: "1-year contracts for driver #2" (next to the note: "Beware: romantic Whatsapp messages can leak"):

Originally Posted by Artemis

I heard through the grapevine that Red Bull thinks about a soft exit by making Perez 'brand ambassador' for Red Bull Racing. You know, drawing "oohs" and "aahs" from the public when doing donuts at some Red Bull event in an old RB F1 car. This way, Perez still has a "seat" but not in FPs, qualies and races. But no news whether this is acceptable for Perez and Carlos $lim. $lim Jr. was clear about what he wants: Perez remains team mate of Verstappen in 2025, because that was the deal. Bargaining power of $lim is high.

And if you wonder why Verstappen is cautious with criticism for Perez lately: someone got to foot the bill for his pay check of dozens of millions. Not that $lim is the only source of income for RBR of course, but quite understandably it's nice to have a big sponsor on your side. In the dog eat dog world of F1, realities like this help to turn a blind eye.

Only 49 points though in 18 race weekends (all races + Sprint since Imola last May) with a 2024 Red Bull car: that's quite a tailspin that usually no driver at Red Bull survives. Red Bull should have known better when they signed his extension. They ought to be blamed.

Bottas was held on a tight leash, kept in check, by Mercedes with consecutive 1 year contracts - it kept him focused to live up to the expectations of Wolff, Vowles & C°. Once Bottas had left Mercedes, he said that the uncertainty of getting an extension each year, was a tough burden for him: no performance as Mercedes wants = you're out.

18 races + 4 Sprint [Austria/Las Vegas/São Paulo/Qatar] after Miami 2024: 49 points with a 2024 Red Bull Racing car:

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by dfox

If they want the constructors championship, then RB should focus on building a car that can also be driven by their #2 driver, not just their #1 driver.

2020 - 3rd
2021 - 4th
2022 - 3rd
2023 - 2nd

These aren't the results of someone who can't drive. His 2024 results are because of a crappy car.

Yes . I agree , the RB20 is/was a crappy car . The RB20 has a fundamental design flaw from day 1 (!)
That's why the RB20 had the entire 2024 season non-stop setup issues at every track.
Except in the Brazilian rain race , even in a crappy car MAX is actually unbeatable in the rain .

We heard that more than once from MAX in his swearing words that the car really s@cked. That's why he got his FIA task penalty (!)
But I'm not agreed about the fact that Red Bull should build a car for the KitKat man , because Yuki ran 'today very fast lap times and pace in the RB20 also in the long runs it looked great ..
Yuki said : I had a lot of confidence in the RB20 , after a few laps I knew exactly where the limit was ..
They should put Yuki in the 2025 RB21 seat (!)

MAX was sailing in the same crappy boat , but nevertheless ...MAX didn't sink like the KitKat man .

[Killed by Death]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

According to the Dutch article , the KitKat man wants $50-75 Million (!)
Yeah. The Mexican is a true shame for motorsports..

Think I'd pay Kit Kat for next year and demote him to reserve. Let him sit the bench and look like an idiot. He would be a rich idiot but still embarrassing.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by Killed by Death

Think I'd pay Kit Kat for next year and demote him to reserve. Let him sit the bench and look like an idiot. He would be a rich idiot but still embarrassing.

IMHO. Horner s@cks too , he should think twice before to sign the KitKat man again..
Horner was blinded by the Mexican $Millions...

As Artemis has said : The KitKat man has the Red Bull Team in a 'Judo hold'...

#TheKitKatHold (!)

[dfox]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

Yes . I agree , the RB20 is/was a crappy car . The RB20 has a fundamental design flaw from day 1 (!)
That's why the RB20 had the entire 2024 season non-stop setup issues at every track.
Except in the Brazilian rain race , even in a crappy car MAX is actually unbeatable in the rain .

We heard that more than once from MAX in his swearing words that the car really s@cked. That's why he got his FIA task penalty (!)
But I'm not agreed about the fact that Red Bull should build a car for the KitKat man , because Yuki ran 'today very fast lap times and pace in the RB20 also in the long runs it looked great ..
Yuki said : I had a lot of confidence in the RB20 , after a few laps I knew exactly where the limit was ..
They should put Yuki in the 2025 RB21 seat (!)

MAX was sailing in the same crappy boat , but nevertheless ...MAX didn't sink like the KitKat man .

What?

Out of all of the drivers from Red Bull Racing, Yuki was the SLOWEST. Ayumu Iwasa and Liam Lawson in RB's were faster than Isack Hadjar, who was faster than Yuki... Just because he says he's comfortable means jack sh@t. The RB looks to be a faster car than the Red Bull, honestly.

But at the end of the day, none of this matters. This is testing, not racing. There is no pressure. There is no connection to reality. It's just time to put some people in a seat and do some laps.


Also, Checo's mechanic said straight up that Max and Checo's cars were not the same, before RB made him delete his comment. Not the same ship, just like everyone else saying that Hamilton wasn't given an equal car to Russel (debatable).

[dfox]

Originally Posted by Horner

“It's a tough one because we have the biggest regulation change in probably 50 or 60 years in the history of the sport,” he said.
“So with that in mind, we hate finishing third in the championship, but the additional wind tunnel time that comes with that is, if you like, the only upside in a year where there is such a dramatic regulatory change.”

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/t...la-1/10680936/

Finally stated out loud. They didn't care where Checo finished. They care about his performance next year, no doubt, but they don't need the constructors money, they need aero time.

[tsk94]

Originally Posted by dfox

The media needs to leave the guy alone.

No. He's a professional driver at the highest level of motorsport (and being paid $14M/year, btw). It's his JOB to be able to adapt to the inevitable variances in car performance and balance. Especially relative to his only benchmark, his teammate. His performance this year absolutely warrants the criticism he's been receiving. When his teammate wins the Drivers Title in the same car, and Checo scores ~30% of the points Max does, that says enough right there. No fine print or additional context can realistically justify that difference. And I say all of this as a general Checo supporter!

[G30M]

skysport pundit tries to prove no british media bias

[dfox]

Originally Posted by tsk94

No. He's a professional driver at the highest level of motorsport (and being paid $14M/year, btw). It's his JOB to be able to adapt to the inevitable variances in car performance and balance. Especially relative to his only benchmark, his teammate. His performance this year absolutely warrants the criticism he's been receiving. When his teammate wins the Drivers Title in the same car, and Checo scores ~30% of the points Max does, that says enough right there. No fine print or additional context can realistically justify that difference. And I say all of this as a general Checo supporter!

Giving him a hard time, asking about his performance, etc, is different than straight up making up lies about him to get clicks on their website.

[G30M]

Originally Posted by dfox

The money is absolutely a factor. RB would lose monumental amounts of money if they cut his contract.

Also I'm not sure that people realise Perez isn't getting the money. Perez has a sponsor that pays Max's salary.

If Perez is axed, RB has to effectively payback 2 years worth of Max's salary to the sponsor. (my uneducated guess)

Perez ain't getting much from this.

[M5Rick]

Wow what a mess in RBR accounts wise and with this Mexican standoff it would hurt less having Checo for '25 and let the money roll in