Red Bull Racing know that an important decision is looming after the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
Max Verstappen proved that making him angry is a bad idea as he won the Qatar Grand Prix after picking up a one-place grid penalty for driving too slowly on a cooldown lap during qualifying.
George Russell benefitted from his relegation to P2, but couldn’t keep the Red Bull behind him going into the first corner.
Verstappen admitted in the post-race press conference that he had ‘lost all respect’ for Russell for his complaints about the Dutchman’s conduct during Q3 on Saturday.
However, the 27-year-old recorded his ninth victory of the season, although it highlights how dominant he’s been during this era of F1 that he could finish the 2024 campaign with half the number of wins compared to last year.
Sergio Perez, on the other hand, is having a much tougher time alongside Verstappen.
A last-place finish in the Sprint Race was followed up by a retirement in the Grand Prix.
It appeared to be out of the Mexican’s control after spinning behind the safety car, but it left him stranded in eighth in the Drivers’ Championship, meaning Perez has matched a record set by Jos Verstappen in 1994 that he won’t want to hold.
Sam Bird was commentating on the race for BBC Sport and suggested that if he could choose any partner for Verstappen going into next year, it would be RB driver Yuki Tsunoda.
Yuki Tsunoda told he should be Max Verstappen’s preferred partner at Red Bull next season
Tsunoda went into the race in Qatar hoping to score points and give RB a chance of finishing sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.
He started P14, but was running in the points immediately after a brilliant start to the race.
Unfortunately, Tsunoda and Liam Lawson kept slipping backwards, with the car simply not quick enough to compete with even the likes of Sauber who scored their first points of the season through Zhou Guanyu.
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When Tsunoda was running in the points, Bird said: “Yuki Tsunoda has impressed me this year, if I were to pick a partner for Max Verstappen I would give Tsunoda a go, I really would.”
Only 15 cars were running at the end of the race but Tsunoda wasn’t able to add to his career tally of 91 points.
RB decided to put both of their drivers on the soft tyres for the final stint of the race.
However, they appeared to learn nothing from Zhou’s tricky run on that compound in the Sprint Race and their performance dropped off before they reached the chequered flag.
Yuki Tsunoda doesn’t have the full backing of the Red Bull team
On paper, Tsunoda appears to be the clearest choice to replace Perez should the Mexican driver leave at the end of the season.
He’s seen off several teammates at RB including Daniel Ricciardo and will begin his fifth campaign in F1 in 2025.
Helmut Marko believes Tsunoda is a candidate to race for Red Bull, but that feeling isn’t shared by everyone in the team.
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Horner has concerns about Tsunoda that seem to make it look like Lawson would be his preferred candidate for the role.
The Japanese driver knows he will be on the grid next year, but his future beyond that is uncertain.
His performance in Red Bull’s post-season test in Abu Dhabi could be even more important than what he does during the last race of the year.
