On Thursday, Red Bull announced that Liam Lawson will be demoted to the Racing Bulls team. After only two Grands Prix for the main team, the 23-year-old New Zealander has to make way for Yuki Tsunoda. It’s not often that a driver is sacked after just two races, even in the cutthroat world of Formula 1.
The last time a driver was shown the door so quickly was three decades ago. It happened to the Italian Ivan Capelli, who in 1993 only raced twice for the Jordan team. Capelli was hired as an experienced driver, a stable factor alongside the debuting Rubens Barrichello. At first glance, he seemed a good addition, given the fact that he had previously driven for Ferrari and had almost won races in Adrian Newey’s March cars.
Vroege exit
Team boss Eddie Jordan initially had his sights set on Ayrton Senna, but the three-time world champion extended his contract with McLaren in 1993. Thus, the Irishman, in his third season in Formula 1, eventually ended up with Ivan Capelli. In the run-up to the opening race in South Africa, however, the Italian immediately faced technical problems with his Jordan 193. On the asphalt of Kyalami, he didn’t get further than the second round – a costly crash ended his race.
That was nothing compared to the subsequent Brazilian Grand Prix. March withdrew from the championship in the run-up to the race, reducing the number of cars allowed to participate after qualifying to twenty-five. In a field of twenty-six cars, one driver would therefore always drop out. At Interlagos, that was, you guessed it, Ivan Capelli. Struggling with the handling of his 193, he finished dead last during the qualifying session, more than two seconds behind teammate Barrichello. This blunder marked the end of his Formula 1 career – the Italian was replaced by the Belgian Thierry Boutsen, although he too would not make it to the end of the season. By the end of the year, Jordan had used as many as six different drivers. Let’s hope Red Bull fares better this year!
