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Who will be Max Verstappen's teammate in '25: Perez or Lawson?
- Ludo van Denderen
Daniel Ricciardo has barely left Visa Cash App RB and from the Red Bull family, the speculation within the team continues. This time the rumours revolve around Liam Lawson, the driver who will replace Ricciardo at VCARB from the United States Grand Prix onwards. Indeed, stories are circulating that he is already up for another promotion next season to become Max Verstappen's teammate at Red Bull.
Lawson was appointed as Yuki Tsunoda's teammate on Thursday. Officially speaking, that is until the current season ends, but it is obvious that the 22-year-old could stay on in 2025 if he performs well in the coming months. Indeed, if Lawson does indeed manage to convince by then, according to several Australian and New Zealand outlets, he could even become a serious option for Red Bull Racing to then replace Sergio Perez.
Can Perez stay on in '25?
Perez has a contract with the team for next season, but it is an open secret that this does not mean the Mexican will actually complete his stay. Should Red Bull decide it would be better to replace Perez, Lawson would be the only logical candidate for the seat next to Verstappen. Indeed, it is known that Christian Horner is not sufficiently in favour of promoting Yuki Tsunoda.
Lawson was reportedly promoted to VCARB before the end of this year, so that it can be assessed whether he is ready for Red Bull Racing. Earlier, it was also rumoured that Lawson would have an option to compete in at least five Grands Prix in his contract, but that is incorrect. However, Red Bull did have to let Lawson know by 15 September whether a seat for him in '25 was available at all.
So a place in Formula 1 is there for Lawson next season too. Only now the question is: Will he be Verstappen's or Tsunoda's teammate by then? If Lawson managed to get promoted to Red Bull Racing, then Isack Hadjar - currently reserve driver for both Red Bull teams - would be the most logical choice to then compete for VCARB next year.
This article was written in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi
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27 September 2024
