Red Bull is acting “now” and taking steps to update Sergio Perez with Fernando Alonso or Carlos Sainz ahead of the 2025 F1 season.
This is the opinion of former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher, who believes that there is no time to waste with the driver market in the “hot phase” that it is currently experiencing.
Despite an encouraging start to the season, which saw him finish with teammate Max Verstappen in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, Perez’s long-term is doubtful as his existing contract with Red Bull expires at the end of 2024.
Perez said ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix that “it’s only a matter of time” before negotiations begin on a new deal with Red Bull, insisting both sides were “satisfied” with each other.
However, Red Bull has had several opportunities with Sainz, a product of the team’s illustrious driver academy, available for 2025 after squandering his seat at Ferrari to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
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Meanwhile, reports this week claimed that Alonso was “going very hard” to sign up for Red Bull next season, with the two-time title winner ending his contract with Aston Martin at the end of this season.
Red Bull have insisted they are willing to wait before finalising their driver line-up for 2025, but former Williams driver Schumacher has suggested the team will now act with so many interesting features available.
He told Sky Deutschland: “Actually, I don’t think the resolution at Red Bull won’t be taken until the summer.
“Now it’s the hot phase, now Sainz is on the market.
“We have to do it now. Perez is a candidate who has to be in the booth.
“Alonso is still on the market. That’s why Red Bull has to make a decision now. “
After being photographed shaking hands with Sainz at Suzuka on Friday, Helmut Marko, a long-time Red Bull advisor, admitted after qualifying that the Ferrari driver “is a call to consider” for 2025.
A return to the Red Bull fold would see Sainz reunited with Verstappen, with whom he reportedly had a strained relationship within the Toro Rosso junior team in 2015/16 before Verstappen’s promotion to the senior team.
Sainz spent 18 months at Toro Rosso before leaving Red Bull for good and joining Ferrari in 2021 after stints at Renault and McLaren.
Having bypassed Sainz for promotion to Red Bull, Schumacher believes the 29-year-old will not be among the most sensible on Marko’s list when it comes to replacements for Perez.
He said: “As far as Dr Helmut Marko is concerned, I don’t think Sainz is the number one priority, because he’s already let it go once.
“At the time, he changed it to Max because he thought Max was obviously the better driver.
“So it’s going to be tricky for Carlos if Dr. Marko makes the decision. “
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