Max Verstappen's 2025 Teammate Likely To Be Junior Driver - Red Bull Insider

Saajan Jogia | Oct 13, 2024

Jun 8, 2024; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Red Bull Racing driver Sergio Perez (MEX) in the pit lane at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images / Eric Bolte-Imagn Images

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has strongly hinted that Sergio Perez could be replaced for the 2025 season, with Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda from junior team VCARB emerging as the top contenders for the Red Bull seat. Both drivers have showcased their strong racing prowess, and with Perez's recent dip in form, Marko is carefully evaluating his options.

The Mexican driver's replacement rumors made headlines ahead of the Formula 1 summer break, hinting at his potential exit on grounds of poor performance. Despite Perez securing a Red Bull contract extension in June, a significant drop in pace after the season's Chinese Grand Prix pointed fingers at him being replaced by Lawson or Daniel Ricciardo alongside Max Verstappen.

However, with Daniel Ricciardo's underwhelming performance also under scrutiny, Red Bull chose to retain Perez and instead dropped Ricciardo from VCARB, replacing him with Lawson. The Kiwi, who had been serving as Red Bull’s reserve driver, made a strong impression last year by stepping in for five Grands Prix while Ricciardo recovered from a wrist injury.

With Lawson and Tsunoda now teammates, Marko has hinted that Perez could be replaced by a junior driver in 2025. Thus, he will closely evaluate Tsunoda's and Lawson's performances over the final six races of 2024 to determine which of them deserves a promotion to Red Bull. Speaking to F1-Insider on the two options being assessed for the next season, Marko said:

“Tsunoda is a candidate to drive alongside Max in 2025.

“The remaining races of this season will decide what our driver pairings will look like for next year.

“I can very well imagine that a junior driver will drive alongside Max.

“We decided to compare Lawson and Tsunoda. They have the same material, the same conditions and each now has six races to prove that he is the better one.”

With four rookie drivers, including Lawson, set to make their mark in Formula 1 next season, the 81-year-old senior advisor has stressed that Red Bull's focus will increasingly shift towards promoting and developing young talent in the sport. He added:

“We started with the philosophy of giving young drivers a chance in Formula 1.

“Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo are just three examples.

“The others are now following this philosophy.

“Mercedes is giving Kimi Antonelli a chance, Haas Oliver Bearman, Williams Franco Colapinto and it seems that, fortunately, Audi is now seriously considering the young Mick Schumacher.”