Red Bull told ‘megastar’ will never be Max Verstappen’s teammate amid Sergio Perez uncertainty

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Red Bull Racing always appear to be one race away from a driver crisis within one of their two teams.

The race weekend after Daniel Ricciardo was replaced by Liam Lawson, all eyes were on Red Bull driver Sergio Perez after another disappointing performance.

The gulf between Perez and teammate Max Verstappen has always been evident but over the past 12 months, it’s grown to the point where many people have been questioning just how sustainable the team’s line-up is.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Red Bull look set to miss out on winning the Constructors’ Championship for the third year on the bounce and the blame will be solely pinned on Perez with Verstappen currently possessing a 57-point lead in the driver’s standings.

In fact, there’s a good chance Verstappen will achieve the remarkable feat of winning a fourth title when his team finish third in the championship, with Ferrari only eight points behind after a phenomenal performance at the United States Grand Prix.

This has unsurprisingly created a lot of speculation about Perez’s immediate future.

Talking on the RacingNews365.nl Podcast, journalist Ruud Dimmers and former driver and pundit Tom Coronel were discussing the options available to Red Bull.

Several drivers have been suggested, with Franco Colapinto a potential option to join the Red Bull family after his impressive start at Williams.

That would involve either Yuki Tsunoda or more likely, Liam Lawson earning a promotion from RB.

However, Coronel and Dimmers have both ruled out a move for McLaren star Oscar Piastri.

While Helmut Marko is a huge fan of Piastri’s, they don’t see the young Australian making that switch unless Verstappen also leaves the team.

Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri will never be teammates at Red Bull

Talking about Red Bull and RB’s driver situation, Piastri’s name comes up and the question is asked as to whether he could be poached from McLaren one day.

Journalist Dimmers said: “You know one thing is for sure at Red Bull if you don’t have a discussion about the first and the second car, then you’re just the second car behind Max.

“So, the discussion is over.”

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Coronel then replied: “Yeah, so that’s never going to happen.”

The question is then put to the panel about whether they could see a move for Piastri happening in 2025 or 2026 and Dimmers continued: “No, no, only when Max is not at Red Bull will there be room for a big new megastar.”

Coronel is then asked if he thinks Piastri and Verstappen will never be teammates at Red Bull and Coronel simply said: “Right.”

Oscar Piastri already possesses one key Max Verstappen trait

Red Bull always seem to be trying to solve one driver conundrum and their junior program has yet to produce an alternative to Verstappen since his promotion to F1 a decade ago.

Lawson looks like the most viable candidate at this stage, with Red Bull unconvinced about promoting Tsunoda.

Arguably, the last time Red Bull had their ideal driver line-up was when Ricciardo and Verstappen raced alongside each other, which explains why Christian Horner was so keen to give the Australian another chance last year to prove himself as an alternative to Perez.

Verstappen is unlikely to want another potential number-one driver alongside him at Red Bull, which is why it’s so unlikely that Piastri will ever join him in the team.

Piastri has been told he already possesses one Verstappen-like trait, but his aim now has to be to surpass Lando Norris at McLaren next season and be their candidate to challenge for the championship next year.