Red Bull’s future: Perez, Tsunoda, or Lawson?

ABU DHABI: With the Formula 1 (F1) season wrapping up on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, the question on Red Bull’s mind is, who will fill their second slot behind Max Verstappen? Who will replace Sergio Perez? Or will they keep the Mexican driver for another season?

The Mexican Minister of Defence has had a rocky season to say the least. Questions of his departure began before the summer break, and have only flourished in the media since, as he’s done the exact opposite.

With one race remaining in the 2024 F1 season, Red Bull will soon have to decide whether they are willing to incur the costs of ending their relationship with Sergio Perez in favour of some fresh blood. And if they are, does Yuki Tsunoda or Liam Lawson deserve the second spot based on their performances thus far?

SERGIO PEREZ

Perez didn’t do bad at the beginning of the season, securing four podiums in the first five races. He fell one short of another in the Miami Grand Prix and that would be the last time he finished in the top five. Both Monaco and Canada were disastrous for Perez, as he suffered two DNF’s (did not finish). The red bull driver would continue to struggle, with his best finish since the first five races coming in the Dutch Grand Prix, where he finished sixth, behind both Ferraris, both McLarens, and his teammate.

Perez would have a good race in Azerbaijan, holding on to third place for the majority of the race. But, a crash with Carlo Sainz in the penultimate lap would bring Perez his third DNF of the season. By November, the Red Bull number 2 had caused nearly $5 million worth of damages, the most of any driver in Formula 1.

Perez finished last among all those who finished the race in his home GP at Mexico. To make things somehow more dismal, he would get his fourth DNF of the season in Qatar due to a clutch failure. With one race left, its clear to both the fans and the management at Red Bull, that the racing team’s future looks brightest without Sergio Perez.

After his DNF in Qatar, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner stated “He’s old enough and wise enough to know what the situation is and let’s see where we are after Abu Dhabi.” It seems that Red Bull are hoping Perez will come to the right decision on his own, which for them would be his departure, according to ESPN.

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However, Perez isn’t making it easy for them. On Thursday, he stated “I will be driving for Red Bull next year,” as he explained nothing has changed regarding his contract. In June of this year, Perez signed a two-year contract extension. Luckily for Perez, he signed shortly after his disastrous streak began, before it grew into the legacy staining monster it is now.

In order to replace Perez, media reports suggest that Red Bull would likely need to pay him somewhere in the region of $10 million. But that’s not the only cost the racing team will incur. Perez has long been backed by Telmex, a Mexican telecommunications company that has poured over $130 million into Red Bull since 2021, according to Brazilian outlet Grande Premio. Even without Telmex, Perez’s other sponsorships including claro, Telcel, and infinitum, have helped to reduce the financial burden on Red Bull, a welcome aid as operational costs rise.

Beyond the money Perez brings in with sponsorships, he also allows Red Bull to tap into the Latin American market, as the Mexican is a huge draw for the racing team in terms of merchandise and ticket sales.

TSUNODA AND LAWSON

However, with an expansion and multi-year extension of Red Bull’s contract with AT&T being announced at the end of October, they may be willing to let go of Perez after all. So, who could replace him?

The two candidates, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, are the current drivers of the second F1 team owned by Red Bull, the Visa Cash App RB F1 Team. While it would normally be easy to compare two drivers on the same team, things become a little tricky due to the fact that Lawson joined the season after Daniel Ricciardo’s departure from the team following the Singapore GP. That means that Lawson has only competed in five races so far, with one to go.

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Before Lawson entered the fray, Tsunoda was getting the better of Ricciardo. In the first eight races of the season, Tsunoda outdid his teammate in six. In the next ten races, Ricciardo would outperform Tsunoda in seven. While Ricciardo began to do better later in the season, it wasn’t enough to justify keeping an aging F1 star when a younger athlete could be developed.

In came the Kiwi, who got off to a great start, finishing ninth in his first race, while Tsunoda took 14th. Lawson would have a tougher Mexico GP, finishing second last out of all drivers who crossed the finishing line, but that wasn’t too bad considering his teammate hadn’t. But, that would be the end of the 22-year-old out doing Tsunoda, as the Japanese driver would finish ahead of Lawson in the next three races.

Tsunoda believes that based on his recent performances, he deserves the nod from Red Bull.

“Compared to what I’ve done this year, it’s quite clear I should get a chance.”

Tsunoda

But, the Japanese driver expressed that F1 is “one of the most political sports,” and thus “anything can happen.”

Lawson also feels that he’s ready to make the step up. “I do feel like if the opportunity one day came to go to Red Bull, I feel ready for it.” The New Zealand driver raved about the idea of having Max Verstappen as a teammate.

“You get access to everything he’s doing, to all of his data. To have that for every single session, for me, would be the most exciting part about that opportunity. So yes, I’d say I feel ready.”

Lawson

With one race remaining, Red Bull will need to decide whether Sergio Perez deserves another chance next season, or if the Mexican’s time with the outfit is up. Meanwhile, the two drivers on the junior team will need to do their best to perform and impress, as Red Bull will be watching closely in Abu Dhabi.  

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