Red Bull unsure about promoting ‘decent’ driver into RB seat if Liam Lawson replaces Sergio Perez

Follow us on Google Discover

Red Bull Racing made a decisive move after the Singapore Grand Prix to remove Daniel Ricciardo from his RB seat for the final six races of the season.

Liam Lawson has waited for his opportunity and will have six Grand Prix alongside Yuki Tsunoda to try and help RB secure sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.

The aim for Lawson is securing a contract for the 2025 season but that’s when things get more complicated.

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are both confirmed for next season as Red Bull’s drivers.

However, Perez could lose his Red Bull seat as he’s currently in breach of clauses in his contract due to underperforming compared to his teammate.

Red Bull are set to lose the Constructors’ Championship title this year and the blame has to be pinned on Perez given Verstappen has a decent lead in the driver’s standings.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Visa Cash App RB F1 Team from team principal to Red Bull relationship

Talking on The Race Podcast, journalists Ben Anderson and Scott Mitchell-Malm have discussed a problem Red Bull face if Perez loses his seat at the end of the year.

Tsunoda is considered a candidate to replace Perez next year, while if Lawson outperforms the Japanese driver then he could be handed an immediate promotion as well.

Perez won’t be retained to drive for RB if he loses his Red Bull seat, meaning Horner and Marko will need to call upon another driver.

In theory, Isack Hadjar is the next driver in line to earn an F1 call-up, however, Red Bull’s recent attitude towards the young Frenchman suggests they don’t have a huge amount of confidence in him at this stage.

Red Bull appear to have concerns about handing Isack Hadjar a 2025 F1 seat

Talking about the Red Bull academy and the lack of progress being made to prepare driver for F1, Anderson said: “There’s been chat about Lindblad and maybe Hadjar coming in, drivers that they haven’t got a full read on.

“Lindblad, I know Horner’s excited about. Hadjar, they don’t know because it’s becoming increasingly clear that you need to blood drivers in the Formula 1 car to really understand what they can do because F2 has become so random and unpredictable.

“He had a lot of weird test items to do as well [during FP1 at Silverstone]. So it wasn’t quite the same comparison, but nevertheless, they’re not sure about him.”

READ MORE: How Isack Hadjar could end up racing for RB in 2025 as Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 exit looms

Mitchell-Malm then continued: “The problem is that every potential solution they have now with the drivers then creates another short-term problem because if they do decide Lawson is actually really, really good and needs to be in the Red Bull next season, who they partner, Tsunoda with RB, is really unclear because they don’t feel like they want to take the punt on Hadjar.

“He’s fighting for the title in Formula 2, he’s clearly a decent driver. Now, is he a very good F1 driver? I don’t know. I don’t think Red Bull knows what his ultimate potential is, but he’s definitely doing enough to seriously be considered.

“But it feels like they just want to park him in a testing role and reserve role next season.”

Who are the alternatives to Isack Hadjar if RB need another driver for 2025?

Red Bull will hope Lawson does enough to earn an RB seat for next year, while Perez’s form improves enough to justify retaining him for another campaign.

However, if it’s decided that Lawson – or Tsunoda – are needed alongside Verstappen, then Red Bull have a few alternative options to Hadjar.

As mentioned above, Horner is a big fan of Arvid Lindblad but promoting him directly from Formula 3 would be a big risk.

Ayumu Iwasa is still on Red Bull’s books after a very strong F2 campaign last year but doesn’t appear to be in their plans.

Unless Daniel Ricciardo makes a miraculous U-turn and decides to make another comeback, only one driver outside the Red Bull group currently stands out.

Marko has spoken positively about Franco Colapinto who already knows that he won’t have a race seat at Williams next year.

He would likely be expensive to sign from Williams but appears to have a higher ceiling than many of Red Bull’s current juniors.