Short answer: no.

With Liam Lawson’s poor performance and his heavily implied impending ousting, a topic that has never really left the media rotation has once again been thrust into the spotlight, where, in my opinion, it belongs. Why is the second Red Bull seat so cursed?

Whether or not Lawson does get replaced is irrelevant. There is a bigger problem. Bigger than him. Bigger than Perez. Bigger than Albon and bigger than Gasly.

You'd call it pertinacity, I call it Christian Horner and Co.. Whatever floats your boat, really.

What makes a fast car? Broad question. Condensed, the answer looks something like this: power-to-weight ratio; your car needs to be as light as possible to maximize acceleration and overall speed; downforce; especially in the current ground-effect era of Formula One, the aerodynamics that generate suction between the car and the track play a crucial role in stability and cornering performance. And, the last I'll touch on, instability.

Let me explain. An ‘oversteer-y’ car is faster than any other. Oversteer (simply), means the car has more front grip and a loose hind end. When you see a car spin around a corner– that’s because of oversteer. This is a double edged sword. Yes, oversteer allows a car to corner in a more precise manor, to use both axels efficiently; however, it also makes a car significantly more prone to instability; volatility.

Max Verstappen likes a volatile car. Naturally, the RB has developed to suit Max. But, it wasn’t always that way.

Adrian Newey, Red Bull’s former chief technology officer (AKA the guy who comes up with the genius car designs), likes to design this type of volatile car. They also tend to perform well in the wind tunnel. Red Bull Racing has been designing cars this way since long before Max got onboard. Does that mean the car isn’t being adapted to work with Max’s driving style and preferences? No. Like I said, this is what he likes to drive. But, more importantly, Max has solidly been RBR’s faster driver since 2019. Naturally, a team develops around their fastest driver. I do not mean to say that this hasn’t been taken to a level near reductio ad absurdum, but it is a logical course for the team to take.

Again, this type of car is difficult to corner, difficult to adjust to, and difficult to change. Max is special– lucky– that he fits this car so damn well. Daniel Ricciardo, too. Most drivers do not.

So, short answer: no; the seat is not cursed, but it is a bitch to drive. And I put that blame solely on Red Bull Racing. Formula One is a two car championship and the team's reluctance to adjust any part of the car for a second driver– or improve the car's drivability for Max's sake– is a testament to the nature of the team and work environment.

The solution to Red Bull's problem is not to shuffle drivers in and out of the second seat (ruining their careers on occasion) and hope that one fits. The solution is to change the fucking car, thank you Mr. Wolff. Checo has been saying the car is fucked, Max just consistently outdrives it. Putting an inexperienced driver like Liam Lawson in the RB21 highlights this fact further.

Without Max, Red Bull would be racing Sauber and Haas. Please close your eyes and meditate on that fact for a good 33 seconds. Thanks.

I am a Max Verstappen fan, not a Red Bull fan. I stand by this. I have for a long, long time. And unfortunately, with every anecdote and media day, my assumptions about Red Bull Racing are proven right.

This toxic-second-seat cycle will continue until either A, Red Bull happens upon a driver that meshes with a pointy car or B, they actually make this car drivable. You know my vote. Let's not sacrifice more lambs when the god just is not listening.