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Two Q3 exits, 2 DNFs, a SQ3 exit and a sprint P14 mark the shortest ever Red Bull Racing career and end Liam Lawson’s season after two weeks.
It’s announced the Wednesday before the race in Japan. A replacement is not even mentioned. The rumour mill immediately starts rolling. Tsunoda, various F2 and F3 drivers, someone in Indycar who has never had anything to do with Red Bull, almost everyone is brought up.
Someone, jokingly, mentions Colapinto, and after the man himself likes the tweet, it trends.
Thursday still has radio silence, and more and more people come to terms with Red Bull running just the one car.
None of the theories floated around the first two days turn out to be true. Not a single person had it right, not even as a joke or offhanded comment.
Because on Friday turns up Sebastian Vettel, in a Red Bull Racing jacket. He smiles brightly but doesn’t answer a single question, except for one. “What number will you drive with?” Because, as of this year, his number 5 had been available for anyone to use, and Bortoleto had taken immediate advantage of that. Sebastian shrugs and says, “You’ll see.”
The memes about the Red Bull second seat curse appear once again, though hesitant, during a not-so-great FP1.
Daniel Ricciardo sends him every single one, via Instagram, and after seven or eight that all say that Daniel has cursed the seat, he jokingly apologises.
After a much better FP2, several people take it upon themselves to say that the seat was never cursed at all, and all those drivers really were shit.
People fight against it tooth and nail, because it truly is ridiculous to compare a four time world champion to someone with 13 race starts.
FP3 sees Sebastian outperforming Max, who, for once, doesn't seem particularly bothered.
Someone from the Red Bull team implies this is a one-time ordeal, but also that they’ve not found anyone else.
Sebastian qualifies fourth, just in front of a kid almost as old as his entire f1 career and just behind his teammate.
The post-race press conference is possibly the quietest one in history. Max, who, still in --quite literally silent-- protest against the swearing ban, says exclusively what needs to be said. Sebastian, who adamantly refuses to answer any questions that aren't about the race. Oscar, a silent observer at the best of times.
Sebastian arrives in Bahrain in a Red Bull t-shirt. This time he answers two non-race-related questions. Is the number 32 he’s chosen to race with a tribute to Michael Schumacher, who used it on his debut? (Yes.) Is he here to stay for the rest of the season? (He laughs at that, as if not believing the question. Yes.)
He qualifies alright, but the Mercedes are simply better in the still uncharacteristically cold Bahrain, and Mclaren have truly concocted a rocketship. Fifth. He’s no longer the second-youngest race winner.
He gets his first win back in Silverstone, and he tries (and fails) not to rub it in Lewis’ face, who has not yet gotten a win this year.
After a DNF in Baku he gets added to a Whatsapp group chat that's called “RBR second seat support group” along with an ungodly amount of emojis. The person who’s added him turns out to be Alex Albon, who immediately says he’s “totally gonna rub this in George’s face oh my god” alongside a string of emojis that make it abundantly clear the group chat’s name was of his creation.
His luck does not particularly let up for Singapore or Austin, and he complains to the group chat about the car, but gets no pity at all, just several, “dude, i know.”’s
But Max and his back-to-back wins in Mexico and Vegas give him some faith for the last three races of the season. Though it's almost entirely set that one of the Mclaren boys will win the championship, giving neither Max nor Sebastian a chance to break their shared 4-championships-with-Red-Bull record, it's still incredibly close between Max and the Mercedes’ for third place, with Sebastian surprisingly close behind for the fact he has two races less on record.
Each race closer to the end of the season and each race where the gap between the two Mclaren drivers gets closer and championship leads get traded off, more people ask him about his opinion on the Papaya Rules, which are still very much enforced, along with the “no first or second driver” shenanigans.
They’re gonna have to make a decision at some point, probably. But even at the second-to-last race, that moment has not yet arrived. Mark is behind it. Sebastian knows that. Everyone knows that. It’s probably why everyone wants to know what he thinks.
It’s Sebastian’s new last race in F1 (though a new Red Bull second driver has not been found yet) and he’s starting on pole. He wants to win, just to prove he can, for a third time, and then promptly leave (which would be funny)
He does.
He sits in the post-race press conference in between the two Mclaren drivers who will not stop shooting each other glances that Sebastian can't possibly hope to decipher. (Oscar had finished second and thus won the Championship, the first for Mclaren since Lewis’ in 2008. (Mark is probably overjoyed.))
Someone asks him if he’s coming back next year. Sebastian shrugs and says, “You’ll see.”