Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson are battling for a spot at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen. Their performances at this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix could yet have a bearing on the outcome.
Red Bull shareholders will meet on the Monday after the race to decide who will partner Verstappen. A particularly strong display from either driver would naturally be at the forefront of their minds.
According to a report in Mexico, Sergio Perez has now decided he wants to leave. This was critical for Red Bull, who don’t appear to have another way out of the new contract they gave him during the summer.
If, as expected, either Tsunoda or Lawson is promoted, then the final vacancy on the 2025 grid will be at RB. The driver who loses out will partner a new hire.
| SEASON | DRIVER ONE | DRIVER TWO | ALSO USED |
| 2024 | Yuki Tsunoda | Daniel Ricciardo | Liam Lawson |
| 2023 | Yuki Tsunoda | Nyck de Vries | Daniel Ricciardo, Liam Lawson |
| 2022 | Yuki Tsunoda | Pierre Gasly | |
| 2021 | Yuki Tsunoda | Pierre Gasly | |
| 2020 | Pierre Gasly | Daniil Kvyat | |
| 2019 | Daniil Kvyat | Alex Albon | Pierre Gasly |
| 2018 | Pierre Gasly | Brendon Hartley | |
| 2017 | Carlos Sainz | Daniil Kvyat | Pierre Gasly, Brendon Hartley |
| 2016 | Carlos Sainz | Max Verstappen | Daniil Kvyat |
| 2015 | Carlos Sainz | Max Verstappen |
Williams driver Franco Colapinto previously looked well-placed for that role. Colapinto is without a seat for next year after James Vowles signed Carlos Sainz as Alex Albon’s teammate.
However, the decision-makers at Red Bull are no longer interested in Colapinto. They’ve seen him crash four times in the past three weekends, although his most recent accident at the Qatar GP wasn’t his fault.
Why Isack Hadjar is considered Yuki Tsunoda ‘2.0’ within Formula 1
With Colapinto out of the running, Isack Hadjar is the clear favourite for the last place on the grid. Hadjar enters the final round of the Formula 2 season just half a point behind Gabriel Bortoleto, who will race for Sauber next year.
While he’s clearly the next one off the production line, Red Bull are unsure about Hadjar. After an unimpressive FP1 outing at Silverstone where he was a long way off the pace, he’ll need to produce a more convincing display in Verstappen’s car this weekend.
Based on an Autosport report, the F1 paddock sees Hadjar as ‘Tsunoda 2.0’. Unfortunately, they don’t mean this in a positive sense.
While he’s very much a contender for the seat, Red Bull have doubts about Tsunoda’s consistency. If they promote him, it will be because they don’t think Lawson is ready, and even then he may not be guaranteed a spot for the whole season.
The Formula 2 moment that may sew doubts about Isack Hadjar at Red Bull
Hadjar will have to overcome similar scepticism to Tsunoda if he makes it to F1. But it’s worth noting that he’s outperformed Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli in F2 this year, and both of those drivers are rated extremely highly.
Jolyon Palmer suspects Hadjar has a higher ceiling than Lawson or Tsunoda. If he lands the RB seat and impresses next year, he’ll immediately put pressure on Verstappen’s teammate, such is the volatile nature of the Red Bull driver conversation.
In addition to outright pace and consistency, Red Bull drivers need to be able to cope under pressure. Helmut Marko’s unique openness in the media makes it a particularly intense environment.
But Hadjar spun late on in the Qatar Sprint, costing himself the championship lead heading to Abu Dhabi. While Horner was impressed by Hadjar on the whole, that moment may raise concerns internally.
