Christian Horner partly controls the future of four Formula 1 drivers as part of his role as Red Bull team principal. In addition to the top team, he also oversees junior outfit RB.
For 2025, world champion Max Verstappen is locked into Red Bull, but the three other seats are still up for grabs. Incumbent teammate Sergio Perez is set to lose his drive.
One of Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson will almost certainly replace him. The other will stay at Faenza, likely alongside F2 runner-up and academy talent Isack Hadjar.
| YEAR | DRIVER ONE | DRIVER TWO | DRIVER THREE | DRIVER FOUR |
| 2019 | Alex Albon | Daniil Kvyat | Pierre Gasly | – |
| 2020 | Daniil Kvyat | Pierre Gasly | – | – |
| 2021 | Pierre Gasly | Yuki Tsunoda | – | – |
| 2022 | Pierre Gasly | Yuki Tsunoda | – | – |
| 2023 | Yuki Tsunoda | Nyck de Vries | Daniel Ricciardo | Liam Lawson |
| 2024 | Yuki Tsunoda | Daniel Ricciardo | Liam Lawson | – |
Tsunoda and Lawson are bidding to become the first driver promoted from the junior squad since Alex Albon in 2019. Albon replaced fellow graduate Pierre Gasly midway through that season, and lasted 18 months before the arrival of Perez.
Daniel Ricciardo prompted a reshuffle at Red Bull when he took the shock decision to join Renault. Gasly was the initial solution, with Albon stepping up to what was then Toro Rosso alongside Daniil Kvyat.
Red Bull’s driver programme has produced two four-time world champions in Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. But the production line has faltered in recent years, hence the team’s willingness to look outside their stable.
Kevin Magnussen regrets rejecting Christian Horner’s Red Bull junior team offer
‘Everyone was talking’ about the Red Bull vacancy following Ricciardo’s departure, and Kevin Magnussen’s management put him forward. Magnussen was coming off arguably the best season of his career at Haas.
He’d finished a career-best ninth in the world championship after scoring points 11 times in 21 races. But as he told Autosport, Horner wasn’t ready to offer him a Red Bull drive immediately.
Instead, he suggested a Toro Rosso gig, potentially opening up an opportunity alongside Verstappen further down the line. Magnussen said no, but then watched as Gasly struggled and the door opened for Albon within half a season.
Two years later, he was off the grid, and while he made a comeback in 2022, his career may now be over for good. It’s no surprise, then, that he regrets the answer he gave Horner.
“Daniel [Ricciardo] left Red Bull, and I remember my management speaking to Christian Horner, because of course everyone was talking about the Red Bull seat,” Magnussen recalled. “And Christian said, ‘Look, there’s nothing at Red Bull, but we can talk about Toro Rosso’. And I said, ‘No, no, let’s not do that,’ which I probably should have done.
“It was Gasly who took that seat. Albon was promoted from F2 to Toro Rosso, and then Gasly didn’t do a good job – and Albon came in! So, you know, the guy who got that Toro Rosso seat ended up at Red Bull.”
How Kevin Magnussen could have raced for Ferrari before Charles Leclerc intervened
Magnussen can’t argue with Haas’ decision to change their driver line-up. Nico Hulkenberg, who left for Sauber, outscored him 41-16 and won their qualifying head-to-head 15-6.
Magnussen ‘maximised his potential’ towards the end of the season, bagging an impressive P7 at the Mexico City GP and finishing ninth in Qatar. But that came too late to have any impact on his future.
The ‘what could have been’ story extends beyond Red Bull. The Dane started his F1 career at McLaren in 2014 but lost his seat after one year alongside Jenson Button.
Still, Ferrari were eyeing Magnussen in 2018 after academy driver Charles Leclerc made a slow start at Sauber. But Leclerc’s improvement scuppered a dream move for the Haas star.
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