Red Bull appear to have two main options left if they are to replace Sergio Perez for the 2025 season following his abysmal performances.
The Mexican has been thoroughly outclassed by teammate Max Verstappen this year and has now gone 18 races without achieving a podium in a title-winning car.
Granted, he has struggled to come to terms with the Red Bull machinery, but they would have won the constructors’ championship with any remotely competent driver.
His performances have probably cost him his F1 career, even though he holds a contract through next season, but who will replace him?
Ayumu Iwasa will replace Yuki Tsunoda during Abu Dhabi Grand Prix F1 practice
There’s one race to go for both Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson to prove themselves worthy of a promotion to the senior team.
The Japanese driver has considerably more experience, with 76 more race starts than his Kiwi teammate under his belt.
With that comes more concise racecraft, more consistency and a better understanding of the politics both on and off the track.
READ MORE: Helmut Marko issues blunt six-word warning to Liam Lawson and Sergio Perez amid Red Bull seat battle
Lawson though, has shown glimpses of being a more promising talent and is slightly younger than Tsunoda – whose career has been backed more by Honda than Red Bull.
They have plenty of data available to them from the sister Visa Cash App RB team though, so they will be able to make a very well-informed choice.
That will be after Ayumu Iwasa replaces fellow countryman Tsunoda during FP1 at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, handing Lawson an advantage.
How will missing FP1 affect Tsunoda’s performance?
Missing FP1 at this stage in the season shouldn’t affect Tsunoda too much, considering that he has spent 23 race weekends in the car and tested it on multiple occasions too.
Lawson will have a slight edge in track familiarisation and setup feel, but by the end of FP3, his teammate won’t have missed out on much.
There’s also the chance for mechanical issues on the Kiwi’s side of the garage which may level the playing field – but the fight for a Red Bull seat doesn’t just come down to this weekend’s race.
READ MORE: Red Bull’s one worry about Yuki Tsunoda despite ‘incredibly high ceiling’ in Sergio Perez seat battle
Next week’s Pirelli tyre test will be important too, as well as anything significant from Perez [like an unlikely win] which may sway their decision.
Either way, it looks set that both will be in Formula 1 next year at the very least, and Verstappen may just be about to have a new teammate to beat.
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