Yuki Tsunoda became Max Verstappen's third different teammate in four races when he replaced Liam Lawson at Red Bull on Thursday. Lawson, who started only two grands prix and a sprint with Red Bull before returning to sister team Racing Bulls,

It increasingly feels like Red Bull is a sinking ship with too many leaks to fix. Eventually, it’s going to capsize, and if that team cannot quickly find solutions I would expect Verstappen will hop off the overturned hull and be off to Mercedes (or whichever is the best port in a storm for him) the first chance he gets.

An academy is only effective when the final stages are carefully managed. Not giving one young driver enough time to replace him with another raw rookie was always a risk and the cut-throat nature that Red Bull were once praised for has resulted in a driver not ready for the top seat and a lack of obvious alternatives.