F1 Insider Hints At Red Bull Sergio Perez Replacement As Contract Negotiations Loom

Franz Tost hints at a replacement for Sergio Perez.

Sergio Perez's contract with Red Bull is due to expire at the end of this year and there has been a huge amount of speculation over whether this will be extended or if there is someone else that the Austrian team have their eyes on. 

Franz Tost, team principal of Red Bull's sister team AlphaTauri has hinted that Yuki Tsunoda could be looking to take the Mexican driver's spot in the future. Red Bull often uses AlphaTauri as a stepping stone up to the team so it does not come as a huge surprise that they would consider one of their drivers.

The Japanese driver scored his first points of the season at the Australian Grand Prix and Tost believes he has "improved in every aspect".

Speaking ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Tost explained:

"Yuki drove two extremely strong races so far.

"I am very happy with him. It's not his fault that we aren't competitive yet."

"As far as I know, Sergio Perez still has a contract for next year. All I can say is that Yuki is on the right track. He has improved in every respect.

“But I think he should drive at AlphaTauri again in 2024. In 2025, I think he will finally be ready for Red Bull."

Tsunoda reflected on the chaotic grand prix in Melbourne, saying that he wants to aim higher. He explained:

“I mean, without the red flag I score points in P5.

“These things happened behind myself after I passed Pierre [Gasly], so even without the incident I was having a P5.

“So it mega sucked after the red flag, a mega shame; I’ve been frustrated to end up P10.”