Sergio Perez could be heading into his last race on the Formula 1 grid for now as the Mexican has consistently struggled this season.
The Red Bull driver has been a long way behind his teammate, Max Verstappen, who clinched his fourth world championship earlier in the season.
Perez didn’t make any significant errors in qualifying ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix but lost a lap time for track limits at Turn 1 before it got reinstated.
The Mexican driver is very likely to not be on the grid in 2025 despite having a contract with Red Bull due to his lacklustre performances.
Liam Lawson has been impressive at RB, which is Red Bull’s junior team, and been decisive in wheel-to-wheel combat.
The New Zealander is certainly talented, but Nico Rosberg has doubts about his credentials as a Red Bull driver to partner with Max Verstappen.
Liam Lawson isn’t ‘obvious’ for Red Bull as he hasn’t been on a ‘different planet’ to Yuki Tsunoda
Lawson is yet to complete a full season in Formula 1 but has impressed at times since replacing Daniel Ricciardo at RB ahead of the United States Grand Prix.
The Kiwi scored points at Circuit of the Americas with a drive to ninth place, but Lawson was chaotic in Mexico during a duel with Perez.
Despite the strong drives, he hasn’t been clearly superior to Yuki Tsunoda within the RB team and Lawson has been matching the Japanese drivers pace at times.
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Partnering Verstappen will be a step up as the Dutchman has been a very difficult teammate to beat over the years which is mentally demanding.
Rosberg explained on Sky Sports F1 (07/12, 13:28) that Lawson doesn’t have a lot of experience in Formula 1 and it may be a risk for Red Bull to promote their young driver.
He said: “It’s such a hard decision. The options are not so fantastic, also because of a lack of experience on Lawson’s side.
“But I guess the rumours are, again, that they’re going to go for Lawson, which is the new driver that they brought in just recently in the RB car.
“That’s not an obvious one either, because against Yuki Tsunoda, it’s not like he’s been on a different planet. It’s there or thereabouts. But I guess that’s the gamble they will take and they should be taking.”
Neither Liam Lawson or Yuki Tsunoda may be able to match Max Verstappen
Red Bull have very few options heading into 2025 as they are looking to replace Perez. Lawson and Tsunoda are the most likely candidates for the Austrian team.
Neither driver have experience at the front and Lawson is yet to complete a full season at the highest level, which may create problems alongside Verstappen.
Former Formula 1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya is doubtful over Lawson and Tsunoda as Verstappen is such a demanding teammate to go up against.
A more experienced driver such as Carlos Sainz may have been a better option and he was available earlier this year but Red Bull overlooked him.
This may have been to avoid a repeat of the tense atmosphere at Toro Roso in 2015 when Sainz and Verstappen were teammates.
