Red Bull are in a unique position in Formula. Rather than just looking after their own two drivers, they have four to manage, in addition to their famous driver academy.
World champion Max Verstappen is set to stay put for next year despite interest from Mercedes. He’s under contract until the end of 2028.
And so, the biggest decision Red Bull have had to make concerns the identity of his teammate. Sergio Perez started the year strongly with three runner-up finishes in four races, but he hasn’t finished on the podium since China and has scored just four points in the last two events.
This slump ostensibly came at a bad time for the Mexican, who’s in the final year of his contract. However, Red Bull are expected to retain him for next year.
That’s bad news for Yuki Tsunoda, who’s been in excellent form this year for junior team RB. With 19 points on the board, he sits in the top 10 in the drivers’ championship.
Red Bull risk losing Tsunoda after failing to reward these showings. One journalist has called Christian Horner’s stance on the Japanese driver ‘baffling’.
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have different views on Daniel Ricciardo
That just leaves Daniel Ricciardo, who’s struggled relative to Tsunoda this year. He’s only managed five points, all of them coming in the Miami Sprint, and trails 7-1 in the qualifying head-to-head.
However, according to Formu1a.uno, he retains the support of Horner. The Englishman wants to keep him around, as do the senior personnel at RB.
‘Traditionally’, Red Bull wouldn’t retain an underperforming veteran at the expense of their young drivers. Indeed, executive director Helmut Marko ‘would prefer’ to give the seat to someone else.
As the head of the young driver programme, Marko has helped to bring through the likes of Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. And now he wants to promote Liam Lawson or Ayumu Iwasa.
But it appears he doesn’t have the backing to make such a change. It’s worth noting that there’s reportedly tension between the two Red Bull bosses behind the scenes.
One journalist has suggested that Horner has been trying to subtly downplay Marko’s influence in the media. The Austrian, meanwhile, has told Verstappen he’s ready to walk away, and trigger an exit clause in the 26-year-old’s contract, if requested.
Liam Lawson increasingly likely to leave Red Bull over Ricciardo stance
Lawson looked like an inevitable signing for RB for 2025. He’d impressed in his five-race stint with the Italian outfit last year when Ricciardo got injured, and the word was that Red Bull would ‘definitely’ find him a seat.
There has even been talk of a mid-season swap, a year on from Ricciardo replacing Nyck de Vries at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Marko has accused the Lawson camp of circulating ‘nonsense’ rumours in this regard.
Red Bull are now seemingly happy with all four of their race drivers, which means there’s no room for the New Zealander. He recently confirmed that, under his contract, he can leave if they don’t facilitate a full-time F1 debut next year.
And if Perez, Tsunoda and Ricciardo do all sign extensions, then he’ll likely activate the clause. Lawson is expected to attract interest from ‘plenty’ of teams in F1’s midfield.
The 22-year-old will feel that Red Bull have abandoned a meritocratic approach to selecting their line-up. Sam Bird has called Ricciardo a ‘world-class racing driver’, and his tally of eight wins attests to that, but he’s fallen a long way short of his best this year.
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