"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
Red Bull Racing is in a strange place right now. The team may have put once-constant rumors that Max Verstappen would leave next season to rest, but a new team principal and an upcoming Ford-partnered powertrain are just some of the questions lingering over what was the dominant force in Formula 1 just two seasons ago. Performance by the team's rotating cast of second drivers are another problem, one that has persisted throughout the team's Verstappen era. New rumors suggest that the company may be considering a high-profile solution.
According to sources that have spoken to the Indy Star, Red Bull team leadership has shown interest in four-time and reigning IndyCar champion Alex Palou. Notably, the same report adds that Palou denied "been involved with or having any knowledge of talks between he or his team and Red Bull Racing" during IndyCar's most recent race weekend.
That lack of chatter suggests that a deal is far from imminent, but Red Bull's reported interest is still intriguing. Red Bull has moved five drivers through the second car at its senior team since Daniel Ricciardo departed the program. It has attempted to bring Ricciardo back up to speed in a junior car in hopes that he could re-join the senior team, too. All six of these projects have resulted in disappointment for Red Bull, which still views its seat next to Verstappen as an open question.
After trying both young drivers and proven F1 veterans, Palou represents a completely different third option. Although his F1 experience is limited to tests with McLaren as part of a legally contentious mooted signing with the team, Palou is the clear standout in a senior open wheel championship where a spec chassis keeps all competition relatively close. He is also a race winner in his one season of Japan's Super Formula, another major domestic open wheel championship.
At 28, Palou would be a particularly old Formula 1 rookie. Unlike the four young drivers who have recently cycled from stints at Red Bull's junior team to the senior-level program, he would also enter the team without any racing experience in an F1 car. Those things could mark a recipe for disaster, but Palou's outrageous run of success in IndyCar would make him a more compelling outside hire than any other option Red Bull could consider.
The biggest question is if Palou would take the opportunity to jump from a championship seat to a spot at Red Bull with a long history of failure. It is a question Palou has been facing as a hypothetical for years, most notably after a potential program with McLaren appeared and fell apart in 2022. A year later, while reflecting on his 2023 IndyCar championship, the Spanish driver told Road & Track that he saw his previous opportunity in F1 as "a train that goes really fast and opens the door only slightly for you."
In the same interview, Palou also commented on the questions a driver who comes to the series from outside of its conventional ladder system would face. "I think that knowing the tracks and all that stuff," he said, "it's all just talk. If you're fast in a race car, you're fast everywhere. I say that more like being able to test an F1 car, it's great, it's fast, it's different. But it's still two pedals, wheels, and a steering wheel."
You Might Also Like
Comments