Ted Kravitz believes RB driver announcement is ‘telegraphed’ for before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

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The final pieces of the 2025 Formula 1 driver’s market puzzle are expected to slot into place very soon.

With just two decisions left to be made, RB and Sauber have their pick of the available drivers to secure their line-ups alongside Yuki Tsunoda and Nico Hulkenberg respectively.

The Sauber seat still appears to be very much up in the air although the performances of Gabriel Bortoleto in Formula 2 are becoming harder and harder to ignore.

Bortoleto held talks with Sauber in Zandvoort and the head of Audi’s F1 project Mattia Binotto named Bortoleto as one driver he’s monitoring closely at Monza.

For RB, the decision on their second driver is partially taken out of their hands due to their relationship with Red Bull.

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Helmut Marko and Christian Horner are trying to carefully manage a roster of five drivers – or six if you include F2 championship leader Isack Hadjar – for four seats.

Ted Kravitz was speaking on Ted’s Notebook and explained what he and everyone else in the paddock had heard about the second RB seat.

Marko has suggested that Liam Lawson will have a race seat next year but it’s not always been clear where that will be.

READ MORE: Who is Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Lawson was linked with a move to Sauber briefly but now it looks like he’ll be joining RB alongside Tsunoda.

That’s going to almost certainly spell the end of Daniel Ricciardo’s time in F1 unless Sergio Perez’s performances continue to be called into question and the Australian is rewarded with an unlikely promotion for 2025.

What everyone in F1 is expecting to happen with RB’s second seat next season

Talking about the situation at Red Bull’s sister team, Kravitz said: “Are we going to have a driver announcement at RB before the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in a couple of weeks’ time?

“We’re all expecting it, Daniel Ricciardo pretty much telegraphed it on Thursday and is that driver announcement going to be that Liam Lawson will partner Yuki Tsunoda at RB next year?

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“That’s what everybody is expecting.”

Kravitz suggested earlier in the weekend that Ricciardo’s place on the grid could be at serious risk and the Australian is well aware that his time in F1 might be ending.

Before the race weekend, Ricciardo said about his future, via the Formula 1 website: “Let’s say nothing to share.

“Obviously my intention is to keep competing in the sport, but time will tell. There is nothing fixed for next year.

“I would say some things should get confirmed in the not-so-distant future. I don’t think anyone will have to wait until October/November, I think things will happen sooner than that.”

Could Daniel Ricciardo stay on the grid outside of the Red Bull family?

If Ricciardo is set to lose his seat at RB to Lawson as many expect, the final seat available to him is at Sauber.

Under the previous regime at Audi, they had no interest in Ricciardo but Binotto may feel differently about the eight-time race winner.

He’s certainly a better prospect than Zhou Guanyu and much more experienced than the likes of Bortoleto and Theo Pourchaire.

The question is whether Ricciardo would be a better fit than Valtteri Bottas who is currently at the front of the queue for the Sauber seat.

It’s a tricky question and familiarity might end up playing into the Finn’s hands in this situation.

Ricciardo’s dream was always to return to Red Bull and if that’s off the cards then he may have to pursue another career path for 2025.