da4an1qu1 wrote:
I've discussed this in the past with regards to Alonso being content to be number 1 at Ferrari with a very distant Massa, perhaps costing him titles to Vettel.
Max lost the race today because his Red Bull was not as fast *and* Gasly is not Ricciardio. Neither Gasly, nor Kyvat, nor Albon would have been up to the job of keeping within a pit stop of Max and Lewis at Hungary, but given Daniel's past performances at Hungary, and the good pace of the lead Red Bull, I'm sure he could have. And that's what cost Max the race today.
If I recall correctly, Helmut Marko anointed Max as number 1 alienating Daniel, has overseen a deterioration of the junior driver program from which they are relying on driver talent to their determent. They suddenly have a car that can challenge Merc, and instead of a Lewis and Nico driver configuration, they have an Alonso and Massa, Vettel and Raikkonen (to a lesser degree really, as the gap back to Kimi wasn't as severe) configuration.
And this is the danger for Max too. He shouldn't be happy to be beating his team-mate readily. He should be happy to be beating a team-mate who kept him pushing to get that first pole.
You recall incorrectly.
They never appointed Max as number one. It was just an interview where RBR said Max can build the team around himself after he signed a long term contract.
They gave Ricciardo equal treatment which is evident in Dans results when his PU was reliable.
RBR said they gave Ricciardo everything he wanted and thought he was going to sign. Dan never denied this.
Ricciardo then decided to leave saying he wanted a change.
He then changed his story to he did not believe in the honda project.
He then changed his story to team building around Max.
Fact is RBR wanted to keep Ricciardo, but Ricciado made his decision to leave for his own insecurities that you cannot blame RBR for.
Their Junior programme remains the best in F1 and Helmut made it a success. Show me any other team that has brought top drivers into F1.