Three out of the four Red Bull-controlled seats have been filled for 2025, leaving Christian Horner and Helmut Marko with one final decision to make.
Daniel Ricciardo is up against reserve driver Liam Lawson to partner Yuki Tsunoda at Visa Cash App RB next year.
Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast, reporter Ted Kravitz has a theory about how Red Bull can make sure that all five of their drivers are on the grid next year.
Horner is a big fan of Ricciardo and played a key role in his return to F1 last year when he replaced Nyck de Vries halfway through the campaign.
Although the Australian hasn’t reached the expectations many had for him, he still has a very good chance of retaining his seat.
That leaves Lawson in an awkward position, especially as he has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave the Red Bull group if he’s not offered a drive.
Kravitz therefore wonders if Red Bull might try and place Liam Lawson with Sauber – soon to be Audi – in 2025.
The driver’s market is playing out in such a way that the seat alongside Nico Hulkenberg may be available.
It could be a solution that keeps everyone – except Sauber’s current drivers – happy.
READ MORE: Who is Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know
Ted Kravitz suggests Liam Lawson loan to Sauber for 2025
Red Bull have left themselves in an awkward position after renewing Sergio Perez and Yuki Tsunoda’s contract.
They may not have expected Tsunoda to reach the levels he has this year and while Perez has disappointed recently, Red Bull still have faith in the Mexican.
That leaves Ricciardo and Lawson in a head-to-head battle for the final seat and the Australian has the advantage of being able to impress in every race while Lawson watches on from the garage.
There are still plenty of seats available on the grid that Lawson could fill with the likes of Carlos Sainz controlling the market at this stage.
Kravitz has shared why he thinks Red Bull might be able to convince Audi that Lawson would be the right driver for Sauber next year.
It gives them another 12 months to decide which of their quintet of drivers – with Isack Hadjar pushing hard to earn a promotion as well – should leave before the upcoming rule change in 2026.
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Liam Lawson waiting to discover his 2025 fate
Kravitz: “So obviously there was potentially a linkup between [Red Bull and] Porsche. So the Volkswagen Group has been a long-term partner of Red Bull corporate.
“And there was the potential link-up with Porsche didn’t work out. That doesn’t mean that the Red Bull company is not, does not still retain very good links with Audi, which they do.
“So I can see maybe having lost out on potentially Carlos Sainz, Audi might, Red Bull might go, [Helmut] Marko and Christian [Horner] might go to Audi and say, look, if you don’t want to keep Valtteri Bottas, how about Liam Lawson?
“Or indeed the reverse, if they wanted to move Daniel Ricciardo on, but I’m not sure whether Ricciardo [and Nicp] Hülkenberg would be quite what Audi would want.
“I think the appeal of a young charger in Lawson backed by Red Bull, with Red Bull’s grace and maybe giving them something to go in there, and the experience of Hülkenberg might be up Audi’s street.”
Who else are Sauber considering for their 2025 seat?
They may be rooted to the bottom of the Constructors’ Championship but Sauber are still an attractive prospect for several drivers either on the grid or attempting to reach F1.
Audi have control over who will be driving for the team next year even if they don’t officially take over until 2026, hence Nico Hulkenberg’s arrival already being secured.
They’ve been chasing Carlos Sainz for months but may end up missing out on the three-time race winner.
Esteban Ocon is another option for Audi but the Frenchman is expected to join Haas next year.
Audi were also looking at Tsunoda before he signed his new RB deal meaning bringing in Lawson suddenly isn’t out of the question.
The Kiwi proved during his cameo last year that he’s deserving of a place on the F1 grid and will hope if RB don’t offer him that opportunity, that someone else will.
The post ‘Potential link up’: Ted Kravitz wonders if Red Bull might now offer Liam Lawson to one F1 team for 2025 appeared first on F1 Oversteer.