
The danger for Red Bull in its Barcelona F1 team orders choice
OPINION: Red Bull walked into a team orders saga on its way to taking a Spanish Grand Prix 1-2 last weekend, where it took the lead of the 2022 Formula 1 world championships for the first time. But its decisions have added an element of risk to later races.
From 46 (drivers’) and 49 (constructors’) points down leaving the Australian Grand Prix last month, to leading both 2022 Formula 1 world championships heading to this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix. It’s been quite a turnaround for Red Bull.
The gaps were in a sense artificially inflated – because the Bahrain double DNF and Max Verstappen failing to finish in Australia too meant Ferrari and Charles Leclerc got free passes to romp ahead in the standings.

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.
A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.
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