Speculation is rife that Max Verstappen will have a surprise new teammate in 2025.
Rumors surrounding Sergio Perez’s future have swirled all season, but he put together a solid sprint to 8th place at Interlagos on Saturday and even set the fastest lap.
"It’s not about one outcome," said team boss Christian Horner.
“We need both drivers. McLaren has two drivers at the front, Ferrari had it last weekend too. We need both cars at the front. Checo knows that too.”
Team advisor Dr Helmut Marko said on Friday that Perez would remain in place at least until the Abu Dhabi final, but Horner insisted “that there is no deadline” for any decision.
“Nothing is set in stone at the moment. Let’s see how things develop.”
Horner has clearly changed his tune regarding Perez. Things appeared to move on at Interlagos when Horner was spotted leaving the Williams hospitality area, sparking rumors that he was not only interested in Franco Colapinto, but perhaps Carlos Sainz as well.
Indeed, and this remains only speculation at this time, Horner would have offered Williams to buy out the Spaniard’s contract, which would satisfy everyone except James Vowles perhaps: Sainz would remain in a top team and Colapinto could be established for 2025 at Williams.
The other scenario is that Colapinto is signed to replace Perez at Red Bull Racing, but the fact that Red Bull already has Liam Lawson in its ranks does not give much weight to this thesis. Even if the official Red Bull Argentina account on social networks published several evocative emojis!
Horner does not hide his interest in Colapinto.
“We need to keep an eye on the driver market. I think Franco has the qualities to be a potential star of the future. He is part of this new generation of talent like Liam Lawson, who is also doing a great job. Oliver Bearman has did a great job again this weekend. They stepped in and did a good job so far.”
“Franco is an excellent driver and he has a lot of support, especially here. Our priority is our two drivers, but we also have to pay attention to the other drivers.”
Max Verstappen would in any case accept a new teammate according to his father, Jos.
“Max doesn’t care. You have to win alone anyway, and he’s strong enough for that, so it doesn’t matter much.”
“Lawson is doing very well. I think he should finish this season there (at RB F1) to gain confidence and then the team will have to decide what to do for next year. “
When asked specifically if Lawson would make a good teammate for Max, senior Verstappen replied: “I certainly wouldn’t put a stop on that. It’s better for the team of course if there is someone who is competitive. Someone who pushes Max a little forward. That always helps. We’ll see.”
And Carlos Sainz?
“This scenario does not seem credible to me at the moment.”
As for Dr Marko, it’s a “no comment” for the moment: Horner seems to have taken this matter into his own hands and the Austrian no longer has a say in the new organizational chart imposed by the Thai shareholder. Marko is not against the arrival of Sainz but he would be very upset if Colapinto was considered instead of Lawson.
