Števo Eisele on this season: No repeat of the 2005 scandal! Schumacher must step up, Ricciardo on his way out of F1?

Števo Eisele talks to Ruik about the current Formula 1 season. Will Daniel Ricciardo ever finish the season at McLaren? And how serious is the situation around Mick Schumacher, and can Mercedes, led by Lewis Hamilton, still return to the title fight?

The 2022 season is well underway and offers several hot topics. From the apparent imminent end of Ricciardo at McLaren, to the problems of Haas and Schumacher, to the actions and workings of the new FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren

Already last year, Ricciardo’s performance at McLaren was less than stellar. Well, apart from McLaren’s win and double at Monza in Italy and a few other races. In the final showdown, however, Ricciardo was only eighth with 115 points, 45 points behind his teammate Lando Norris.

This year, however, the difference to Norris is marked. Currently Ricciardo holds only eleventh place and has picked up just eleven points in seven races. And that’s awfully low in McLaren. Norris is not only better off in terms of points (7th in the drivers’ championship, 48 points), but he is literally dominating the thirty-two-year-old Australian with his performances.

In qualifying this year, Norris beat Ricciardo six times out of seven opportunities, and in the race Norris was more successful five times. And that is not a good sign for the experienced Australian driver. Moreover, last year he himself said that he was not able to get as much out of McLaren as Norris.

And it could get worse – McLaren boss Zak Brown said ahead of the Monaco race weekend that Ricciardo has certain clauses in his contract that allow for early termination. Although that leaves the Perth native under contract until 2023, according to Steve, he may well not even finish the season at McLaren.

“If you had asked me a year ago if Ricciardo would end up in Formula 1, I would have laughed at you. But the situation regarding him has escalated very quickly and I think he’s a bit of a dead man walking at the moment and I wouldn’t be afraid to say he’s already in danger this season,” Eisele told Ruik.

“In 25 years of watching F1 I have learned that contracts are just a piece of paper in Formula 1. So if McLaren does not want to continue working with Ricciardo, and it looks like they do, then Ricciardo will simply quit the team and the question is whether he can find another job in F1,” the Slovak commentator continued.

Who could take Ricciardo’s seat?

It’s no secret that McLaren would like to partner the American driver. But what about the likes of Pierre Gasly? Sergio Pérez has extended his contract with Red Bull until the end of 2024, so the talented French driver will probably not be promoted for at least this time…

“I think that Gasly’s transfer to a British team is a great wish of the fan community, but I don’t think it’s realistic. The McLaren set-up is clearly straightforward and the hottest candidates to win Ricciardo’s seat are now Colton Herta and Pato O’Ward,” predicts Eisele.

Fernando Alonso & Oscar Piastri & Alpine F1

The legendary Spaniard Alonso has recently declared that he wants to continue in Formula 1. The reaction of the Alpine team? They say they will do everything they can to ensure that the double world champion from 2005 and 2006 can continue with the stable.

The decision on Alonso’s future, it should be noted, could set the transfer merry-go-round in motion. So the question is. Will Alonso really stay at Alpino? And what about Piastri?

The forty-year-old Spanish racer is only under contract until the end of this season, while Esteban Ocon, who many experts believe is the future of Alpin, has his place secured until at least the end of the 2024 season.

“Alonso has once again played his classic game in the media about how he is enjoying everything at the moment and how young he feels. But the question is how long Alonso really wants to continue in Formula 1. For Alpine, however, extending the cooperation with him is the logical choice,” explains the Bratislava native.

“Of course Alpine won’t want to lose Piastri, but if we look at it from a different point of view, all the top teams have already signed their drivers. So although it’s not a good situation for Piastri himself, according to the information I have, there is a huge push to get him to Williams for a year or two.

We’re seeing it with the other rookies. Franz Tost himself has confirmed that new drivers in F1 today need at least two or three seasons to get up to speed. Alpine would have sent their youngster to Williams and Alonso would have helped them for at least another year. That’s my theory,” thinks Eisele.

“But there are two big questions – whether Nicholas Latifi will continue at Williams and the bigger question mark is whether Sebastian Vettel will stay with Aston Martin,” he adds.

A very sensitive subject – Haas & Mick Schumacher

Objectively, this topic and the situation surrounding the German racer speaks for itself. Mick crashed heavily in qualifying for the Saudi Grand Prix, which cost the American team not very little – $1 million to be exact! And then at the recent Monaco race, he cut his car in half.

The son of a legend, it should be noted, has so far failed to get any significant results. Moreover, based on observations of non-verbal communication, it is clear that Haas is not in a good financial position. And Schumacher’s mishaps are not helping the American stable. The crash in Monaco, according to the latest information, cost Haas about a million dollars again.

“There are several levels to this situation. The first is that Haas has made a lot of progress in the last year. Haas is the smallest team in Formula One to suffer from surgery. Mick himself is a very sensitive subject, I can see it in the fan community as well. But if we imagine that Grosjean, Maldonado or Mazepin were causing these accidents, the criticism would be absolutely merciless,” he assesses the situation around Schumacher.

“Schumacher is one of the drivers who has the most media protection. First of all, he’s a very nice guy who everybody likes, and secondly, his father’s story is unquestionable. But at the moment he is in a very similar situation to Ricciardo and needs to finally get a good result because the comparison with Magnussen is relentless,” Eisele is clear.

Eisele’s words were confirmed by Kevin Magnussen. The Danish Haas driver said that during his break from F1, the American team has really improved a lot in the last year thanks to the collaboration with Ferrari and the base in Maranello.

Horner’s media hype or It doesn’t matter who wins the title

“Yes, the Constructors’ Cup is very important to us, but when it comes to the drivers’ championship, both our drivers have an equal chance of success. And frankly, I don’t care which one of them wins in the end. Of course, the season is long and as they say in the sport, it’s up and down. But Checo is at the top of his form and he’s doing an amazing job. It’s great to have both drivers at the top.”

This is a statement from Christian Horner as Red Bull boss, quoted by Motorsport.

Pérez put in a great performance in the recent race in Monaco, and even Max Verstappen told Motorsport that there is a great atmosphere in the team, which will not change even if he and Pérez actually fight for the world title. So if Red Bull is all about the Constructors’ Cup, would they let their two drivers fight hard even at the cost of a potential collision?

The last time the stablemates fought for the title was in 2016, specifically a battle between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in Mercedes colours. However, there was a very turbulent atmosphere within the team at the time, with both drivers also knocking each other out of the then Spanish Grand Prix.

“What Christian Horner said is terrible rubbish. It’s just media hype, the reality is completely different in this case. If we’re talking pure speed, Pérez only beat Verstappen in Monaco. And even then we’re talking about a track where you can’t overtake, and where Pérez had very worn tyres for the last ten laps. On any other track, all three drivers would probably have passed him.

In terms of long term performance and the season as a whole, I don’t think Pérez has what it takes to threaten Verstappen. He’s still at a different level. Red Bull, moreover, has a history of not being able to change its drivers, whether it was the pairing of Verstappen x Ricciardo or, more recently, Vettel and Mark Webber,” says Eisele candidly.

“Red Bull is currently riding on Verstappen. If Pérez can set better times in qualifying and in the race, it could turn around. But I don’t foresee that happening,” he adds.

Budget ceilings and other statements by Horner

The Red Bull boss also recently said that most teams will not enter the final races of this season because of budget caps. Is this more pressure from him on the FIA or fans may actually fear a repeat of the 2005 scandal when only 6 cars entered the US GP, even though at the time it was for safety reasons.

However, we wrote more about this topic in our earlier article. What does Števo Eisele think about the Red Bull boss’s statement?

“Exactly, it was a different story back then in Indianapolis. However, this seems like blackmail from Horner. It is no coincidence that Horner and Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto often debate in public. Because Ferrari is also one of the teams demanding an increase in the budget cap.

It is a classic coalition-opposition game where, on the one hand, we have small teams that oppose the increase and large teams that, because of their position and power, are trying to make the most of it. It is always about money, nothing else. I am waiting and wondering if the FIA and Liberty Media are strict enough to resist this pressure.

On the one hand,I understand the economic and geopolitical influences – inflation is high, transport prices have tripled, but we know F1 teams that are always trying to outsmart the rule makers and find their grey area,” he comments on the circumstances surrounding the budget cap.

Red Bull Racing vs. Scuderia Ferrari

There is still most of the season to go and the question of “who will win the title” is so hard to answer and actually predict anything. We can note, however, that Red Bull currently appear to be the much more stable team, strong in almost all aspects of the race.

Ferrari, on the other hand, have a communication gap at times, with Charles Leclerc losing the win in Monaco due to a poorly executed pit stop. Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, made several unnecessary mistakes early in the season and cost the Italian team valuable points. Can Mercedes also join the battle for the overall championship?

“I have to say that I am excited about the battle for the lead this year for one fundamental reason. We have three different brands, three very different teams in terms of communication, design, philosophy and marketing. All six drivers are also very different, if you look at Verstappen, Perez, Leclerc, Sainz, Hamilton and Russell – each brings something different and has a different driving style,” says Eisele.

“We discussed at the beginning of the season at EisKing that two key factors – development and reliability – will play a role in the title fight. Ferrari and Red Bull have already lost valuable points, while Mercedes has a high level of reliability. I don’t dare to guess how this battle will continue and I count Mercedes in it for now, as they are facing a turning point at Silverstone.

Lewis Hamilton recently said that either they will come up with a major upgrade in the UK, otherwise they can call it a season. With the idea of Mercedes getting between Red Bull and Ferrari, it will be a spectacle,” he looks forward to continuing the title fight.

How is Mohammed Ben Sulayem doing?

Ben Sulayem has made a number of changes to the F1 rules since he took over as FIA President. However, according to several experts and drivers, some of them will not benefit Formula 1 itself as much as they will benefit the International Automobile Federation.

Whether it is the current battle between Ben Sulayem and Hamilton over wearing jewellery to F1 races, or the push to get more sprints into Formula 1, which in turn the teams don’t like, there is a big fight going on internally in the world of the queen of motorsport.

Ben Sulayem succeeds Jean Todt, who was president of the FIA for twelve long years. In addition, he became the first non-European ever to head the FIA. How does Stevo see his actions?

“A very good question, although we are getting into heavy political influences here. Anyway, there are two sides to every coin and we know how Formula 1 has started to thrive commercially. So it’s logical that more and more sub-units want to ride this positive wave.

Liberty Media, as the American owner of F1, is trying to make the most of the queen of motorsport. But it is the International Automobile Federation, headed by its president, that reminds them not to forget that this is still an FIA championship. Behind the scenes there is a big fight for competence, for influence and, as I said before, for money.”

Czech driver in Formula 3 – Roman Staněk

For Stanek, this is an absolutely crucial and absolutely important season this year. It is his third year in Formula 3 and he is currently third in the drivers’ championship with 56 points, six points behind Martins. F3 has had three races so far this year, and in one of them (Imola) the native of Wallachian Mezirici managed to win, in the last race in Spain he finished second.

“The junior series is very unpredictable and most fans have the idea that they are all the same formula. That all the guys are driving the same material, in the same conditions, but the reality is different,” explains Eisele.

“Just like in Formula 1, there are strong teams and weaker teams in the junior series. Roman managed to sign a great contract with Trident (last year’s Constructors’ Cup winner – ed.) and it immediately showed in his performance. As you said yourself, this is Roman’s key season that will determine his next steps.

It is important for him to impress with his performances, the quality of his cross-country manoeuvres, there are many factors that can move him forward, not to mention the sponsors. I firmly believe that Roman will keep it up and next year we will see him in F2,” he hopes for Roman’s career progression.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix

On Sunday 12th June, Formula 1 has its eighth race of the season. Will Red Bull extend its winning streak, or who could shine given the circuit configuration?

“Baku is a very specific circuit. It’s a bit of a compromise between the hard right-hand corners and the endless straight , plus the asphalt, where it’s very difficult to warm up the tyres. So once again, we could see Ferrari having the upper hand in qualifying, while Red Bull will have the upper hand in the race and Mercedes remains a total question mark,” he predicts for the Baku circuit.

“This is a team that will either improve significantly or they will fight for eighth place in the race, for example. They don’t yet understand the W13 they have built. And let’s not forget the safety car factor and the unpredictable circumstances. Baku is one of those venues that is virtually impossible to predict,” he realises.

EisKing

For those who are not familiar with the EisKing podcast, it is, objectively speaking, the absolute knowledge leader in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Števo and Josef Kral even run the so-called EisKing Tour, and in the video above you can watch some footage from the first big event in Košice.

“The EisKing formula family is an absolute heartthrob. We managed to combine the online and offline world of Formula 1, two months ago we had our first big EisKing event in Košice, where we sold out 700 seats in three hours and it was an incredible experience.

First there was a two-hour official show, then another four hours of photo shoots, autograph sessions and great discussions with fans. And the next event is coming up on June 25 in Brno, where we sold out 450 seats in one day. So we’re incredibly excited and fascinated about that. We’re also planning other stops in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, but I can’t reveal more right now (laughs).”

Now we can only thank Stevo for another great interview and wish him much personal and career success, plus many more successful events on the Eisking Tour.