Liam Lawson still in the running to replace Pérez at Red Bull
Sergio Perez's situation at Red Bull is becoming increasingly critical as Christian Horner mentions the possibility of replacing the Mexican with Liam Lawson if his performances do not improve. Despite having a contract valid until 2025, Perez's future remains uncertain.
Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull, mentioned the possibility of Liam Lawson replacing Sergio Pérez next year, provided that he proves himself during the last six races of the 2024 season.
Lawson, who replaced Daniel Ricciardo in the sister team of Red Bull, will team up with Yuki Tsunoda to finish this season.
Perez’s seat once again in jeopardy
Although Pérez has a contract in place until the end of 2025, Horner emphasized that the team is keeping an eye on the new generation of drivers, including the one who could become Max Verstappen’s teammate in the near future.
At 34, Pérez finished second in the drivers’ championship last year, but has not won a race since April 2023, accumulating a 187-point deficit to Verstappen, in a season marked by disappointments.
All drivers are under pressure to perform, but the reason Daniel Ricciardo was in that car was to reposition himself to be there to take over if Checo didn’t perform, Horner said on the F1 Nation podcast.
« We need answers for the overall vision in terms of drivers. This is the perfect opportunity to put Liam alongside Yuki, to see how he performs in the last six Grand Prix, he added.
Horner continued: Obviously, we have a contract with Sergio for next year. But we always have to keep an eye on what comes next. Will it be Liam? Or should we look outside the group? Or will one of the other junior drivers emerge in due time, whether it’s Isack Hadjar or Arvid Lindblad?
A complex evaluation of young pilots
Red Bull’s team principal also expressed doubts about the assessment of junior drivers’ performances in Formula 2, due to the excellent displays of Ollie Bearman and Franco Colapinto in F1 this season: « I find it very difficult to read the form in Formula 2 these days, because when you look at the work that Oliver Bearman did by jumping into the Ferrari on one of the most challenging circuits of the calendar in Saudi Arabia, he looked like a veteran,” he explained.
Horner also highlighted Colapinto’s rise in power: Colapinto was a complete surprise because he was largely ignored in F2, no one was talking about him, then he took the wheel of this Williams. In the few races he has done, he was exceptional, really very impressive.
He concluded by emphasizing the uncertainty surrounding junior drivers: « So, it’s difficult to say if this means that Isack Hadjar, who was beating all the others, is another step forward. Until we give these guys a chance, we won’t know. »
Lawson will have the opportunity to prove his worth starting from the United States Grand Prix, which will take place in Austin from October 18 to 20.
