Red Bull Advisor Hints At Huge Driver Changes In 2025 - 'Youth Is The Trend Again'

Saajan Jogia | Oct 9, 2024

May 4, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen (1) car sits in the paddock before the F1 Sprint Race at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-Imagn Images / John David Mercer-Imagn Images

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has revealed potential driver changes within the Red Bull Formula 1 team and its junior team, VCARB, stating that they are evaluating junior talent for promotion to F1 in 2025 and beyond, emphasizing that "youth is the trend again."

Red Bull has maintained a stable driver lineup for quite some time, with the team showing its intent to keep Sergio Perez alongside Max Verstappen through his contract extension in June. However, as the 2024 season approached the summer break, Perez's performance saw a significant decline, fueling speculation about his potential exit.

Although Red Bull team principal Christian Horner confirmed that Perez would be retained, Ricciardo's future remained uncertain as he consistently finished outside the points. His teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, outperformed him in most Grands Prix this year, leading to pressure from Marko. As a result, Red Bull replaced Ricciardo with reserve driver Liam Lawson, who had stepped in for five Grands Prix last season and impressed the entire F1 community.

Marko admitted that Red Bull intends to gauge the Kiwi driver's performance for the rest of the 2024 season, especially alongside a strong contender like Tsunoda, to strategize the future driver lineup for both teams. In addition, Red Bull is also planning to elevate its junior drivers Isack Hadjar and Ayumu Iwasa in the future. Thus, it would be interesting to see how the driver lineups of both teams shape up next year. Speaking to ORF, as reported by PlanetF1, the 81-year-old advisor said:

“I don’t know in how many races he [Lawson] was faster than Yuki, but that’s why we decided that now is the time to make a comparison with Yuki. Who of the two is the fastest?"

With Max Verstappen's position at Red Bull secured until the end of his contract in 2028, Marko suggested that "someone from our junior program" will join him in the future. This comes in light of the outstanding performances by junior drivers at other teams, which have helped them secure Formula 1 seats for the 2025 season. Marko added:

“Youth is the trend again.

“What we used to do, is now being done by Mercedes with Antonelli, Haas with Bearman, and I also hope that [Franco] Colapinto will end up somewhere. He was thrown in at the deep end [by Williams] and has delivered three great races.”

Williams made a mid-season change, replacing the underperforming Logan Sargeant with Colapinto ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. This decision has proven fruitful, as the Formula 2 driver has already scored four points in three races, surpassing Sargeant's total during his time with the Grove outfit.