The serious problems of Red Bull: “Checo Pérez does not know how to hide his discomfort and Verstappen is incapable of understanding the word empathy”

The good customs of talent management affirm, and that Inés Temple denies me if I make a mistake, that teamwork and respect for co-workers are vital for a good working environment. For this reason, companies spend large amounts of money on training and integration days so that the harmony of their teams grows because this success will achieve greater benefits for all. It is understood that a healthy environment generates comfort and, in the long run, in addition to better productivity, lower turnover. This means that fewer people leave the company. However, in a job as competitive as being a pilot of Formula One where there are few seats, finite contracts and salaries that are around seven figures, the teams care nothing if their drivers get along. Even many times, in an effort to activate high competition, the teams generate rivalry between their midfielders to get the best out of them on the track. Well, at Red Bull, this motivational tactic is getting out of the hands of the Verstappen – Pérez duel and the worst thing is that we are only on date two.

The subordination relationships between pilots, in the category, have always been given: Schumacher-Barrichello, Vettel-Webber, Hamilton-Bottas. Choose your favorite duo but there was always a number one and a number two that as the championship progressed, the predilections became more evident due to the ambitions of betting on the one closest to the title. Unfortunately the 2022 season ended with the general feeling that Max’s ambition played against Checo’s dream of finishing runner-up. It was felt that Verstappen did not know how to return the Mexican’s loyalties on the track and what is worse than in his statements he did not show regret or regret. Today, months later, it is clear that the relationship between the two is broken and that as long as the conditions in the classification are intact, without an obvious favorite, the team will have to see how both fight mercilessly. Red Bull has said that it will let them fight and to the extent that one loses the rhythm, this premise can end up generating problems with abandonments, problems at stops and even friction. Gone are the days of 2021 when Checo was the loyal defense minister.

The distances between the two would have widened further after Verstappen’s statements in the postseason where he stated that: . Since that interview, the pilots’ circles affirm that everything has simply broken down. The escort pilot position always existed, but at least we saw a complicit game of respect for the driver designated to be the star. A gratuitous flattery, a bit of modesty, an intention of camaraderie. Good manners they tell him. Those that today in Red Bull, absent, are doing more damage to the team than their own rivals.