Red Bull are clearly considering parting ways with Sergio Perez at the end of the season.
Before and after the Mexican driver signed a new contract for 2025 and 2026, Perez’s current place as Max Verstappen’s teammate was under a gray cloud.
That cloud is now turning black, as Liam Lawson has replaced Daniel Ricciardo at RB F1 and started a clear face-off with Yuki Tsunoda. And he’s at the level from Austin!
"Perez has a contract for 2025," repeats Red Bull F1 consultant Dr Helmut Marko at the US GP.
“If he is up to par in terms of performance, that will not be in question. But Formula 1 is a competitive sport, which is why Daniel Ricciardo has also been replaced.”
Perez had recently improved his level – while Verstappen struggled with the less competitive 2024 car. But now that the car has improved, the gap has widened further. Almost a second yesterday in qualifying!
"Checo moved up one spot," continues Marko after the Austin sprint race. “It’s not really what we expected.”
“The gap to Max was also quite big in terms of lap time. We are not blind.”
As for Lawson, Marko was more enthusiastic.
“Yuki fought very well against the Haas drivers in the Sprint, but in the end he had no chance, because they were much faster on the straights.”
“Liam was very good in the practice session. He was on par with Tsunoda, if not faster. He had a problem with the track limits, but his performance was perfect, especially considering that he “It’s his first time on this circuit. It’s also the first time in a long time that he’s back in the car.”
“And his time in Q1! Wow. We can say it’s a success so far.”
Marko adds that Lawson’s competitive return to the F1 grid “shows once again that we must give young people a chance”.
“If he continues like this, he will be Verstappen’s teammate in 2025.”
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