Tsunoda And Lawson To Fight For 2025 Seat Next To Verstappen According To Marko

Friday, 11 October 2024 at 14:00

Helmut Marko suggested he would like to see one of Red Bull's young drivers - Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson as Max Verstappen's teammates next year.

Although Sergio Perez signed a two-year deal with Red Bull Racing this season, based on Helmut Marko's comments, the Mexican driver could easily be replaced.

While the Mexican driver recently dismissed speculations that he would retire after the 2024 Mexico City Grand Prix, his future beyond 2024 is still uncertain.

Red Bull's motorsport Helmut Marko is actively searching for a driver who would be a suitable replacement for Perez, and he told F1-Insider.com:

"Tsunoda is a candidate to drive alongside Max in 2025. The remaining races of this season will decide what our driver pairings will look like for next year. I can very well imagine that a junior driver will drive alongside Max."

"We decided to compare Lawson and Tsunoda. They have the same material, the same conditions and each now has six races to prove that he is the better one."

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Liam Lawson replaces Daniel Ricciardo for the remaining six race weekends (nine races including sprints) of the 2024 season, and the pressure is on him to perform.

The 22-year-old finds himself in a situation where he doesn't yet have a contract for 2025. While a great performance might get him to Red Bull Racing, an average or below-expectation performance might mean he won't have a seat even in RB and will be out of F1 again. Marko added:

"We started with the philosophy of giving young drivers a chance in Formula 1. Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo are just three examples."

"The others are now following this philosophy. Mercedes is giving Kimi Antonelli a chance, Haas Oliver Bearman, Williams Franco Colapinto and it seems that, fortunately, Audi is now seriously considering the young Mick Schumacher."