Red Bulls line-up ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season is still yet to be confirmed as Sergio Perez continues to struggle.
The Austrian team are likely to finish third in the Constructors’ Championship as they floundered throughout the middle of the season with a difficult car to drive.
Perez, in particular, is under pressure and may be on the verge of leaving the team. He hasn’t scored a podium since April’s Chinese Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The Mexican driver has also made a series of errors and been knocked out in the first part of qualifying multiple times which made some of his races much more difficult.
Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson are both driving well at RB and could be contenders to partner Max Verstappen, but Jolyon Palmer feels Red Bull may have an even more promising talent.
Jolyon Palmer feels Isack Hadjar could be ‘the best contender of the lot’ at Red Bull
Isack Hadjar has been racing in Formula 2 this season and heads into the final round in Abu Dhabi half a point behind the championship leader Gabriel Bortoleto.
The Frenchman is a Red Bull junior and has critically won four Feature Races, which laid the foundations for his title bid.
Hadjar has also experienced a Formula 1 car as he drove the Red Bull in first practice ahead of the British Grand Prix, but he wasn’t spectacular and was tentative behind the wheel.
READ MORE: What Isack Hadjar did at the Qatar Grand Prix that suggests he already knows he’s racing for RB in 2025
Palmer explained on the official F1 website that Hadjar could be an option in the longer term. Either Tsunoda or Lawson stepping up to replace Perez would vacate a seat for the Frenchman at RB.
He said: “So with Sainz currently off the table then, of the other candidates Tsunoda gets my nod.
His results speak for themselves over the last two years: beating De Vries, Ricciardo and Lawson.
“It may well be that he would have similar struggles to Perez if he stepped up, but he’s probably earned a shot to prove otherwise, and it also frees up an RB seat for F2 protege Isack Hadjar, who in the longer run may turn out to be the best contender of the lot.”
Isack Hadjar needs to iron out some mistakes before stepping up to F1
Hadjar may be moving up to Formula 1 at RB for next season regardless of whether or not he wins the championship in F2.
He made a critical mistake in Qatar, which cost Hadjar a lot of points and a podium finish in the Sprint Race at the Lusail International Circuit.
These errors need to be cut out if he makes the step up to Formula 1, as they will be punished amongst the world’s best drivers at the highest level.
Tsunoda made similar mistakes at AlphaTauri earlier in his first season in Formula 1 but has become a much more competitive driver with more consistency.
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