Red Bull’s driver lineup might have been confirmed with the official F1 2025 entry list, but it appears there will be some late changes before 2024 comes to a close.
Sergio Perez is expected to be dropped by the team after a disastrous 2024 campaign, which ultimately led to Red Bull losing the Constructors’ Championship.
The Mexican came under increased pressure to improve his form or risk being ousted at the end of the year, although Perez was adamant that his contract meant he would be driving in 2025.
After his first-lap retirement from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, it was the first time that Perez acknowledged that it could be the end of the road for his Red Bull tenure.
A meeting took place in the aftermath of Abu Dhabi, with Red Bull’s primary objective to determine the next steps for their two teams heading into 2025. Liam Lawson is expected to be promoted, which would leave Yuki Tsunoda in at RB for another year.
Discussing whether its the right move to chose Lawson over Tsunoda, former F1 driver Tiff Needell thinks Red Bull acted too late with the Japanse driver when speaking on social media.
Tiff Needell thinks Red Bull should’ve replaced Sergio Perez with Yuki Tsunoda
Tsunoda is the most experienced of the drivers in their junior teams, however Christian Horner reportedly did not want to promote him to Red Bull.
The Japanese driver is seen as a hot head at times, with his outbursts over team radio often attracting unwanted attention.
His on-track form tells a different story, with Tsunoda consistently outperforming Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson in 2024. Needell thinks Red Bull made the wrong choice by sticking with Perez after 2023.
“So it’s going to be Lawson!! Really feel sorry for Yuki. The way Red Bull works surely they could have started the year with him and then promoted Liam if it didn’t work out.”
Yuki Tsunoda impresses in post-season test with Red Bull
Before the end of the season, Tsunoda took part in the F1 Abu Dhabi post-season test with Red Bull.
The Japanese driver set the 17th fastest time, although he was not expected to be fastest given he was testing Pirelli’s 2025 tyres. He did complete more than 125 laps, suggesting he was comfortable in the car.
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Red Bull engineers were said to be happy with Tsunoda’s feedback, with the Japanese driver himself saying he had a ‘productive’ day behind the wheel of the RB20.
Tsunoda is expected to be eyeing at seat at Aston Martin for the future given their Honda links, which could be a factor in the decision to leave him out of Red Bull 2025 driver lineup discussions.
