Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane: Simple rule for in-team duel

The Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team is well on its way this year to achieving the best result in the team’s history. After eleven World Championship rounds, it sits fifth in the Constructors’ Championship standings with 66 points. The gap to rival Alpine is narrow: the team backed by French motoring giant Renault is just five World Championship points behind the Faenza-based team.

This makes it all the more important for Red Bull’s reserve team not to drop any points. And this is particularly crucial in light of the internal team rivalry between Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad. For whilst the New Zealander is fighting to stay in the top flight (the pressure is mounting given the strong Formula 2 results from Red Bull Junior Nikola Tsolov), his team-mate is doing everything he can to establish himself in his first year of Formula 1.

Consequently, the battle between them is fierce – as was the case at the Chinese Grand Prix, when Lindblad attacked Lawson. There were also duels between the team-mates in Austria, Great Britain, Belgium and Hungary. In four of the five Grands Prix in which both finished in the points this season, they crossed the line one after the other, with Lawson always coming out on top.

No team orders, but a rule for Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson

Will team orders soon prevent the pair from risking a double retirement? Team principal Alan Permane said after the Hungarian Grand Prix: “There were a few moments when things got tense, but I have to trust the two of them. We obviously talked about it before the race, and I tell them: ‘Listen, you can battle each other, just make sure you don’t get in each other’s way. That’s my only instruction.’”

It’s actually a nice problem to have, the Briton added. And he emphasised that he didn’t really care which of the two came out on top. “When they go out on the track, to me they’re Driver A and Driver B. I tell them that too. I don’t care in what order they cross the finish line. For us, the Constructors’ Championship is the most important thing.”

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