Potential Sergio Perez replacement isn’t ‘hugely popular’ at Red Bull as he’s ‘a hard man to work with’

Sergio Perez is likely to lose his Red Bull seat after this weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. It won’t be official until a shareholder meeting on Monday, but there doesn’t appear to be a way back.

While he survived beyond the summer break when many expected him to lose his seat, Perez’s time is now up at Red Bull barring a dramatic turnaround. Attention is already shifting to who will replace him.

Until recently, Franco Colapinto has been a contender. Colapinto was highly impressive in his first five F1 Grands Prix after replacing Logan Sargeant at Williams midway through the season.

But his stock has fallen significantly after a run of accidents and otherwise anonymous performances. He now looks likely to be the reserve driver for the Grove outfit in 2025.

Indeed, with Red Bull no longer interested in Colapinto, it looks like a straight shoot-out between RB duo Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson. Both drivers will have another chance to make their case in Abu Dhabi, though Tsunoda has the added opportunity of the post-season test.

Red Bull overlooked Carlos Sainz, who was on the market after Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move. They may now be regretting that decision as they choose between two risky options.

Yuki Tsunoda has rubbed some Red Bull staff up the wrong way as he eyes Sergio Perez seat

Tsunoda is far more experienced than Lawson, with 86 starts under his belt. He’s also been the stronger of the two, on balance, since the New Zealander replaced Ricciardo in October.

Lawson is yet to beat Tsunoda in Grand Prix qualifying and is trailing 3-1 in the races both have finished. He’s also scored double the number of points in that time (eight vs four).

But despite being the stronger candidate on paper, Tsunoda’s temperament could cost him. According to Mat Coch on the Pit Talk podcast, ‘the feeling within’ Red Bull is that the 24-year-old brings undesirable working methods.

They don’t have the same concerns with his teammate. Indeed, Lawson impressed Red Bull by scheduling a meeting with Horner to take responsibility for his Mexico City GP spat with Perez.

“Is Yuki Tsunoda the driver to lead the Red Bull Formula 1 programme [when Verstappen retires]?” Coch said. “It doesn’t feel right. Is that person Liam Lawson? Maybe not, but he feels a better fit.

“That’s purely from watching their body language, the way they interact with their engineers, the feeling within the team. Yuki’s not hugely popular within the team. He’s a hard man to work with, I understand.”

It’s already advantage Liam Lawson as Yuki Tsunoda battle looms at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

In addition to potential attitude problems, Red Bull are also worried about Tsunoda’s consistency. Indeed, just five days after finishing an impressive ninth in the Las Vegas GP, he qualified 16th for the Qatar GP Sprint.

Given that Lawson will only have taken part in 11 Grands Prix by season’s end, it’s clear that both are imperfect candidates. It’s not hard to envision a scenario where one is dropped in favour of the other midway through next season.

Red Bull’s production line has faltered in recent times, which is why Perez has kept his seat for so long. They’re desperately hoping that either Lawson or Tsunoda can be their next great success story.

Lawson already has one advantage over Tsunoda heading to Abu Dhabi. That’s because the latter will give up his cockpit to 2025 RB hopeful Isack Hadjar for FP1, which will leave him playing catch-up.