FrostyTrichs

Indefinitely.

Hey I can see this one!

The link you posted opens just fine for me on the latest beta build.

The above points are why I believe that Lando gets a pass so to say.

I would argue he's the only one who's been a legitimate talent comparison to Max that Red Bull had even a sniff of a chance to sign. George is a great talent but his fate has been in Mercedes hands for years, who were quick to shove him next to Lewis knowing full well there would be conflicts when neither wanted to be number two.

The talent coming up from the feeder series has been locked down too besides Oscar (lol) but by and large has been lukewarm as well until recently.

I see/understand your points, but I'm not convinced that's what is actually happening. There's so many variables though who's to say what the truth is until everyone retires and tells the stories.

Maybe a rumor put out by the team as an attempt to force Carlos into a decision?

and the only time max was asked to swap for perez to go ahead was when max was racing with a damaged car

Besides when he drove across the line while GP had a heart attack telling him to let Checo through lol. It is what it is, I'm just saying there is always conflict no matter what.

It's in every team's interest to pursue the fastest drivers, imo.

they did not want to create a toxic atmosphere

Not for whoever was number one, but fuck number two and how they might feel about it. Valtteri was pretty candid about how damaging it was to be in that role, and seemed pretty happy to be away from it when he signed with Alfa Romeo.

Because that's totally never happened with Max and Checo? Team orders to swap places that get ignored, second guessing radio calls about strategy compared to your teammate, etc.

Shit happens. Teams know this. Teams just want to win. Even going back to Lewis and Nico, Merc kept Nico until he chose to leave them, even through the conflict.

But speculation and opinions are all part of the fun of F1. We can always count on the teams to do some crazy shit for some random reason.

They want somebody solid, consistent and fast but not enough to threaten Verstappen.

People say this all the time completely ignoring the fact that Red Bull was courting Lando when they thought they had a chance to sign him alongside Max.

Any team that is consciously and actively dumbing down their lineup is making a mistake, imo.

I don't think RB is trying to get someone as good or better than Max

Why wouldn't they be? Every team should be searching for the best available option for every seat, not some lukewarm placeholder to collect the scraps.

It's hard not to love Kevin even though he seems to be constantly under fire for following team orders. He's just a genuine guy who loves to race, hard to ask for more. I really hope he finds something fun to drive if he's unable to continue with F1.

"mate give me your car or I'll put you in the barriers" - Magnussen negotiation, probably.