Shane van Gisbergen says he’s ‘glad’ to avoid Red Bull’s cutthroat system in F1

Shane Van Gisbergen shared his relief at not landing an F1 seat with Red Bull, given his underwhelming start in the Cup Series this year. He implied that he wouldn't have survived the intense scrutiny present within Red Bull, which led to a driver shuffle two races into the 2025 season.

Van Gisbergen marked his debut in the Cup Series with a stunning win in the 2023 Chicago street race, but has struggled to adapt to ovals in his rookie season. Having managed only two top-30 results in the first seven rounds, the New Zealand native cut a desperate figure as he grappled unfamiliar territory.

The same was seen in Red Bull with Liam Lawson, who'd failed to make it past Q1 in the first two rounds at Australia and China, while his teammate Max Verstappen qualified inside the top-5 in both races. This prompted a high-profile switch between Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, who currently drives the second RedBull seat.

Reflecting upon the same, SVG was thankful that he didn't face a similar fate at Trackhouse Racing.

"I’m glad I didn’t drive for Red Bull Racing in Formula 1 after how the first few races went," he said via GP Blog.

In contrast, he shared the support he received from his team boss, Justin Marks.

"Justin has been awesome. He supported me, gave me all the time I needed, and didn't put any pressure on me. It was really cool,"

The team's backing has seemingly paid off, as the Red Bull sponsored driver logged his maiden win of the season in Mexico. He began from pole and converted it into a commanding victory, 16 seconds ahead of the field.

Notably, Shane Van Gisbergen had revealed how Max Verstappen shared a few tips to effectively navigate the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, given the four-time world champion's race winning experience in the track.

“Yeah, a little bit on the wet and just what lines to take and how to approach it. What a guy!,” he said. [1:15 onwards]

The victory secured SVG's playoff bid and marked him as a legitimate title contender, along with his teammate, Ross Chastain.

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Shane Van Gisbergen wants to 'justify' being a Cup Series driver

After his dominant with in Mexico, Shane Van Gisbergen shared that he intends to 'keep getting better' on the ovals. Despite early struggles, he believes progress is being made.

"That's why I'm here, to win road races, but I'm not here to run last on the ovals either. I need to keep getting better and to justify being a Cup Series driver, I need to be performing on the ovals, too. So, I feel like we're really making strides," he said in a post-race press conference.

Shane Van Gisbergen's oval progress were evident with the pole he managed to secure in the All-Star Open race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Although he ended up finishing outside the top-10, the 36 year old held his own by leading 54 laps in the 100 lap affair. He currently ranks 30th in the driver's standings with 242 points and an average finish of 23.