F1 team now giving their driver’s ‘measurements to the undertaker’ as they plot 2025 change

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With exactly half of the 2024 Formula 1 season gone, multiple drivers are at risk of losing their seat on the grid. It may only be weeks now before their fates are confirmed.

One driver who already seems to have accepted it is Logan Sargeant. The American scored a season-best P11 at the British GP but James Vowles has admitted Williams are considering a midseason driver change.

Even if he is able to see out the campaign, it’s hard to see him staying in F1 beyond that. Indeed, Sargeant is already making plans to move to IndyCar and could announce an agreement before the summer break.

Kevin Magnussen is preparing to leave F1 too, according to one journalist. After signing Oliver Bearman, Haas are choosing between Esteban Ocon and Valtteri Bottas for their second seat.

Bottas’ Sauber teammate Zhou Guanyu can offer teams an enormous financial package, but they seem to have little interest in signing him. Zhou is willing to accept a reserve driver role for 2025, provided he has assurances of returning to the grid in 2026.

Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo finds him in a remarkable situation. Having spent much of the season on the brink of losing his RB seat to Liam Lawson, Ricciardo is now in contention to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull.

Red Bull seem ready to give up on Sergio Perez

Perez only signed a new two-year deal at Red Bull in June, but his recent form has been so poor that it may trigger escape clauses in that contract. Haas driver Nico Hulkenberg has scored more points in the last two weekends (16) than the Mexican has in the last six.

Red Bull can sack Perez if he falls more than 100 points behind Verstappen by the summer break, and the gap is currently 137. That gives him just two races to reel in a huge gap, an unrealistic target.

Writing in a roundtable feature for Motorsport.com, journalist Jake Boxall-Legge suggests that the 34-year-old’s exit is looking increasingly inevitable. But he feels that Red Bull should be pursuing a solution instead.

Perez has shown moments of promise during his time at Milton Keynes. He’s won five Grands Prix there, as well as 10 of his 14 driver of the day awards.

“Perez, as a driver, isn’t this bad […] He managed to bounce back at the end of last year, so it must be reversible,” Boxall-Legge wrote. “Yet, something has created this situation again, and Red Bull is busy giving Perez’s measurements to the undertaker rather than finding a solution.”

Martin Brundle names preferred Perez replacement

The current version of Ricciardo may not be a marked upgrade on Perez. He trails Yuki Tsunoda by nine points in the championship and is also losing the intra-team qualifying battle 9-3.

For that reason, Liam Lawson could be a stronger contender. Lawson is testing the RB20 at Silverstone on Thursday, and if he impresses, he might make Christian Horner’s decision much easier.

Martin Brundle believes he would be the best Perez replacement. ‘He seems quite strong’ from what the Sky Sports F1 pundit has seen.

Lawson already has five Grands Prix under his belt after deputising for an injured Ricciardo in 2023. If he doesn’t receive a midseason call-up, he could certainly be in the frame for 2025.