Red Bull Racing are facing one of the toughest decisions in their 20-year history in Formula 1.
Team principal Christian Horner has had to make his fair share of driver changes during his time in charge of Red Bull.
Red Bull have had some fantastic drivers over the years, although four-time champions Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel are the standout stars for the team.
The likes of Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and even Mark Webber moving on forced Red Bull to make some difficult calls and now another tricky decision is on the horizon.
Sergio Perez is about to come to the end of his fourth year with Red Bull, but it’s been by far his most disappointing.
Perez faces being dropped by Red Bull after the upcoming Abu Dhabi Grand Prix having failed to finish on the podium at any of the past 18 Grand Prix.
Red Bull have a shareholders meeting on the Monday after the race at the Yas Marina circuit where Perez’s future will be decided.
Ralf Schumacher was speaking to Sky Sports DE and discussing who he would replace Perez with.
He believes that Red Bull should decide between Liam Lawson and Franco Colapinto, leaving Yuki Tsunoda waiting even longer for his chance.
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Tsunoda has 86 Formula 1 race starts under his belt but has yet to finish on the podium during that time.
A fourth-place finish in Abu Dhabi at the infamous race in 2021 when Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton on the final lap to win his first championship is still Tsunoda’s best finish in F1.
However, Tsunoda has continued to develop as a driver, particularly this year as he saw off the returning threat of Daniel Ricciardo.
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Christian Horner and Helmut Marko are leaning towards hiring Tsunoda should Perez be let go a year before the end of his Red Bull contract.
However, Schumacher isn’t sure about this decision and said: “I would take a young driver.
“I wouldn’t take Tsunoda – he’s been here for so long, I don’t think he’ll become a superstar.
“Lawson can be, Colapinto has had great results. One of the two would come to mind.”
Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson could be set for final race shootout for a Red Bull seat
Red Bull have been very patient with Perez and handing him a new deal this year when his form was already suffering highlights how much they wanted him to find a solution to his confidence issues.
However, things haven’t improved and his retirement from the race in Qatar when running in P5 prevented him from scoring a much-needed haul of points.
Marko has ruled out hiring Colapinto, meaning Tsunoda and Lawson are now going head-to-head to earn that spot alongside Verstappen.
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There are concerns about Tsunoda within Red Bull, particularly to do with his temperament and consistency.
However, Lawson has only taken part in 10 F1 races and expecting him to be on a similar level as Verstappen with so little experience is a big ask.
Red Bull face an extremely difficult decision and it’s still unclear which direction they’re going to go in.
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