It has been claimed that Red Bull’s junior team VCARB could feature an all-new driver line-up of Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar for the 2025 F1 season.
And that potential situation would see Yuki Tsunoda promoted to Red Bull Racing as a replacement for Sergio Perez, with Red Bull keen to locate a new home on the 2025 F1 grid for Daniel Ricciardo.
Although Perez signed a new two-year contract last month, there is a growing expectation that Red Bull will leave the Mexican in the short or long term if he fails to avoid his poor form.
PlanetF1. com reported on the recent British Grand Prix weekend that Perez could be replaced in the 2024 F1 campaign, with functionality clauses in his revised agreement allowing Red Bull to make a replacement if it deems it appropriate.
Longtime Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko recently revealed that the company’s shareholders need to see the VCARB team return to its Toro Rosso roots as a team to expand young talent, expanding on the hypothesis that reserve driver Red Bull Lawson could simply upgrade the long-suffering Ricciardo. .
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However, a report from German publication Auto Motor und Sport claims that VCARB could have two new drivers for F1 2025, despite Tsunoda himself signing a new contract at last month’s Canadian Grand Prix.
Red Bull-affiliated driver contracts have long included a mechanism for the company to transfer them freely between Red Bull Racing and VCARB, with the most memorable example occurring in 2016, when Max Verstappen swapped seats with Daniil Kvyat after the first four races of the championship. season. season.
It is claimed that Red Bull could employ a tactic with Tsunoda, rewarding the Japanese driver with a promotion to the senior team in place of Perez, who has only scored 15 points in the last six races.
That would allow VCARB to promote Lawson, who inspired a five-race appearance with VCARB (then AlphaTauri) for the injured Ricciardo in mid-2023, recording the team’s result at this stage of the season with a ninth-place finish in Singapore. .
Marko revealed earlier this year that a clause in Lawson’s contract would allow the 22-year-old to leave Red Bull altogether if he is promoted to a permanent seat in F1 2025, with the team’s option on the New Zealander set to expire in September.
A promotion for Lawson is unlikely to be the last of Red Bull’s driving force changes with Hadjar, the current F2 standings leader who drove Perez’s car in opening practice for the British Grand Prix, in contention for update Ricciardo.
Ricciardo has struggled heavily since his return to F1 a year ago, with the 35-year-old recording just 3 problems in 20 Grand Prix starts.
Although Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, a private friend of the Australian, is said to want to sign him, AMus reports, Red Bull is looking to convince other teams to sign Ricciardo for F1 2025.
However, Audi, which will take over the current Sauber F1 team in 2026 and whose access to F1 is overseen by McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl, when Ricciardo’s contract with the Woking-based team ends in 2022 , has “shown little interest” in signing. Ricciardo.
If Red Bull nevertheless manages to get rid of Ricciardo, if necessary, it is said that Hadjar would sign Lawson while Tsunoda would become Verstappen’s new teammate.
Speaking to the media, PlanetF1. com added, at the recent Austria Grand Prix, Ricciardo insisted he was not worried about being left without a seat for F1 2025 if he was told a final resolution too late to locate a guide wheel elsewhere.
He said, “No, no. I don’t need to be flippant about it, because obviously I care a lot, but I don’t know. “
“Maybe I’m at a point where that’s what it’s going to be. And I’m just going to put everything I can on the table in terms of effort and functionality [perspective].
“And if that’s enough to secure me a place, so much the better. If not, then it’s okay. I did everything I could, but. . .
“I think when it comes to musical chairs, if I’m in it, then I’m [in trouble]. I want all my attention to be here. It’s that simple. “
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