You're off-base. Yuki had done four years in the junior team and one at the senior team. You can't send back a guy to the junior team after that length of stint. You just can't.
Hi Anon! I assume this message is in response to this post and spoke to my dear mutual @nest-of-shiny-things , who did a deepdive into length of tenure at RBR for a fun side project one day. (Fun fact, in RBR's entire history, HALF--7/14-- of its drivers have had a seat for less time than Logan Sargeant.)
It is true that it would be a bit weird to demote Yuki back to a junior team after being there for four years-- Liam and Pierre were both at Alpha Tauri/ VCARB for 2ish years. HOWEVER, Nest points out that perhaps the operative question isn't "should Yuki should go back to Racing Bulls," but rather, "was Yuki given enough time to prove himself at Red Bull." Neither Liam nor Yuki was given a fair shake, in a car that even Max is struggling to drive. And despite Isack's clear talent, how do they think he will fare any better after only a year in F1?
Nest also raised another good point: why would RBR spend 4 years developing Yuki, just to toss him aside for a newbie after less than a season? Unless they weren't actually developing him, but rather using him as a benchwarmer to fulfill sponsor obligations, waiting for a convenient opportunity to discard him. To quote her, "if they aren't willing to give yuki a longer stint in the red bull, if they aren't willing to give him as much of a chance as danil kyvat, that to me suggests they gave up on him a while ago."
Additionally, there's a bigger issue here than just Yuki. Alex Albon and Sergio Perez were also given similarly questionable sendoffs (as was Nyck DeVries at AT, if that counts). Of course, Perez wouldn't get demoted to the junior team after four years of driving with Red Bull. However, it was shady that he got fired after the end of the season, without giving him a proper chance to say goodbye. (Checo fans probably have a host of other legitimate grievances, which I can't recall from the dome.) Alex was also fired after less than two years at RBR.
MEANWHILE, RBR seems to have been more generous with white drivers. Despite his whimper of a midseason firing, Daniel Ricciardo did get to hang around for a while at Alpha Tauri after leaving the main team years ago. Liam and Pierre both got demoted back to Alpha Tauri/ Racing Bulls after a year. Both of them have similar stories: rookies promoted too early, then demoted, but ultimately keeping their seats. Meanwhile, the Asian drivers they were both replaced with were relegated to third driver status instead.
Personally, I think RBR has a bit of a "glass cliff" problem-- they are most willing to take a chance on POC drivers in moments of crisis, setting these drivers up for failure. Checo did great for several years, so this doesn't apply to him as much, but it definitely feels true of Yuki, Alex, and now unfortunately Isack. Both Alex and Yuki were pulled in as emergency backup hires when the white boys RBR initially chose underperformed. Both Alex and Isack are/were relatively new and probably not prepared for the job. Yuki and Alex were arguably not given the time or tools they needed to succeed in the role. Also, we been knew that Helmut Marko is always saying racist shit so, tracks.
watch how quickly they’re gonna be scrambling to switch the narrative abt how the AT is a horrible car and “daniel isn’t used to it” and “needs time” (the whole season probably) but when nyck was in the same car that wasn’t an issue apparently and it was his own fault 🥴
