Ralf Schumacher names ‘extremely tough’ F1 driver as his ‘ideal’ Sergio Perez replacement at Red Bull

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Sergio Perez is likely on borrowed time in his Red Bull seat following another difficult weekend at the United States Grand Prix.

The Mexican has a contract for the 2025 season but he has not met certain performance clauses relating to his points total relative to Max Verstappen, which could see the team replace him at the end of the year.

After being overtaken by McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull is currently under threat from Ferrari after they achieved a one-two in Austin.

They need a driver who can act as a rear-gunner to Verstappen next season and some have pointed to Liam Lawson as a potential candidate, with Martin Brundle impressed by how the 21-year-old worked his way into the points.

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Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher believes Red Bull should look to their rivals to decide on a replacement for the Mexican when speaking to F1-Insider.

Red Bull should replace Sergio Perez with Oscar Piastri

Along with McLaren emerging as a title contender this year unexpectedly, Oscar Piastri has also risen to the challenge and credibly finished ahead of Norris.

His first win at Hungary required some team intervention, but outscoring Norris at Monza following a bullish first-lap overtake and a commanding win at Azerbaijan after being under pressure from Charles Leclerc makes everyone think he will be a future title contender.

Schumacher thinks Red Bull should take advantage of any impending drama at McLaren after they had to tell Piastri to support Norris in the final races of the season.

“If I were Red Bull, I would also try to get Piastri. He is not only a super talent, but also extremely tough. He will get even better in the future and the small disadvantages he still has compared to Norris will soon disappear,” said Schumacher.

“In addition, Red Bull cannot rely on Verstappen still being in the team in 2026. They have to be prepared for that. Piastri would be the ideal replacement. I am therefore very excited to see how McLaren will approach the Piastri issue in the future.”

McLaren told of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris ‘problem’ that could impact them next year

The dynamic between Piastri and Norris has been closely watched in F1 as the latter is seen as the team leader, given it is now his sixth season in the championship.

Having worked at McLaren as a mechanic at the height of the Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton battle, Marc Priestley believes there ‘no way’ Norris and Piastri can be friends if they are both going for a title.

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Piastri is currently mathematically in contention to take the title, but Norris is more likely to win it if Verstappen has two bad races.

Leclerc’s win and Norris’ fourth place in Austin means the Ferrari driver is now just 22 points off the Briton, meaning Piastri might have more leverage if the team wants to protect their hopes of a first Constructors’ title since the 1998 season.