The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix could arguably end up being the biggest race of three driver’s careers.
Red Bull face a crucial decision after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix where they have to decide how both of their teams will line up on the grid next season.
The only certainty appears to be that Max Verstappen will enter the 2025 season as a four-time world champion with Red Bull.
Sergio Perez’s F1 future is in serious doubt after an underwhelming campaign and he could end up finishing 300 points behind his teammate this season if results go against him on Sunday.
It leaves Red Bull considering who should replace the 34-year-old going into next year and they appear to have narrowed down their shortlist to two candidates.
Helmut Marko believes Franco Colapinto is no longer an option, meaning it’s a straight fight between Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson.
Some believe Christian Horner and Marko are leaning towards choosing Tsunoda after four season racing for RB.
While others believe Liam Lawson is the favourite to replace Perez despite competing in just 10 Grand Prix ahead of the race in Abu Dhabi.
Karun Chandhok has shared on the Sky Sports F1 Podcast the method he would use to decide Red Bull’s next driver and it’s the same way Jenson Button ended up making his Formula 1 debut.
Karun Chandhok tells Red Bull to organise testing shootout between Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson
Chandhok was asked about the situation between the two RB drivers and said: “I think you need to have a shootout between Tsunoda and Lawson in a proper way.
“I think even if it’s with the older car, with the testing rules. Look, they’re two homegrown talents.
“You think back, I was having a recent conversation with Jonathan Williams, Frank Williams’ son, who was involved in the shootout that brought Jensen Button into Formula 1.
“And he was explaining to me and I said, how do you do it?
“And he said, well, we all went down to Spain to do a test and you had Button straight out of Formula 3, he finished third in the championship that year, had a strong Macau, coming in as a rookie.
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“And he was up against Bruno Junqueira, their homegrown test driver.
“And they had the shootout and all the engineers voted, there were seven engineers there and they voted six to one in favour of Junqueira.
“And Johnny said, he and Frank were having this conversation, what should we do?
“They went, look, the reality is the rate of progress Jenson has made in the short time and will carry on to make is going to be extremely high compared to Junqueira.”
Liam Lawson’s potentially may earn him Red Bull seat over Yuki Tsunoda
Since Lawson made his return to F1 after the Singapore Grand Prix, he’s matched Tsunoda more often than not with his race pace.
Lawson has scored points in Austin and Sao Paulo, while Tsunoda finished ahead of him in Brazil and picked up a crucial ninth place in Las Vegas.
Chandhok believes Lawson is a better option than Tsunoda for Red Bull, but whether the team’s shareholders agree is another matter.
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They will sit down on the Monday after the race to determine which driver fits in where.
Isack Hadjar is expected to step up to join RB should either of their drivers be rewarded with a promotion to race alongside Verstappen.
It would make him the sixth rookie on the grid in 2025 alongside Lawson, Oliver Bearman, Jack Doohan, Kimi Antonelli and Gabriel Bortoleto.
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