Martin Brundle admits he ‘hates’ discussing the future of one Formula 1 driver

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The Formula 1 driver market took another step towards completion on Thursday ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Haas announced that Kevin Magnussen would be leaving the team at the end of the season.

That clears the way for Esteban Ocon to join the American outfit when he departs Alpine. The team had already confirmed that Oliver Bearman will be replacing the Audi-bound Nico Hulkenberg.

Haas are set to become the first team in the lower half of the F1 table to finalise their line-up. Alpine and Williams may be waiting for a decision from Carlos Sainz before they decide who will partner Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon respectively.

Sauber, meanwhile, could be seen as a last resort after a point-less first half of the season. Sainz has already ceased negotiations with Audi (who will take control of the team in 2026), and they don’t seem to be the favourite to sign any driver in particular right now.

Further up the field, Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin already have clarity. Mercedes seem to be biding their time before they name Lewis Hamilton’s successor as they evaluate 17-year-old F2 driver Kimi Antonelli.

That just leaves the two Red Bull teams, who have been plunged into uncertainty. It emerged earlier this month that Sergio Perez is at risk of losing his seat during the summer break, with Liam Lawson the top alternative.

Martin Brundle says he’s a ‘huge admirer’ of under-pressure Sergio Perez

Perez signed a new two-year deal with Red Bull just last month. However, the team will be able to break that contract in August if he doesn’t show any signs of improvement.

The Mexican has only scored 15 points in the last six races, a run that has included two DNFs and three Q1 exits. After McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari wiped out Red Bull’s advantage at the front of the field, Perez is putting them at risk in the constructors’ championship.

Speaking on Sky Sports F1 ahead of FP1 in Budapest, Martin Brundle admitted that he ‘hates’ discussing the uncertainty around Perez. That’s because he has so much respect for the 269-race veteran.

But he accepts that F1 is a ruthless ‘business’ and recognises that the gap between Perez and Verstappen is an ‘issue’. It currently stands at 137 points, with the 34-year-old at risk of falling to eighth place after this weekend’s race.

“I hate talking about this, because I’m a huge admirer of Sergio Perez, but it’s our job,” Brundle said. “This is all about performance, this business.

“He’s not delivering world championship points for the team. Maybe if there was a two, three-tenth gap to Max, it wasn’t really an issue because they had such a dominant car. Suddenly there can now be six other cars in that gap.”

Red Bull have been ‘courting’ Max Verstappen rival

Red Bull will most likely promote from within if they do decide to make a change. Horner doesn’t think Yuki Tsunoda could ‘survive’ alongside Verstappen and Ricciardo hasn’t shown the consistency to merit consideration.

Remarkably, Lawson could go from the F1 sidelines to perhaps the most attractive destination on the grid. He could go up against Verstappen in just his sixth-ever race.

The onus would then be on the New Zealander to prove that he deserves the seat long-term. If not, Red Bull may be forced to turn to another outside hire – just like they did in 2021 when they first signed Perez.

Though he may be the obvious candidate, Horner is wary of reuniting Sainz and Verstappen after their tense rookie partnership at Toro Rosso in 2015. Red Bull have been courting Lando Norris, perhaps the second-most coveted driver on the grid right now, but they probably won’t be able to prise him away from McLaren.