Despite signing a two-year contract extension, Sergio Perez’s seat is under threat at Red Bull, courtesy of his horrific underperformance in the past two months. Reports suggest that the Mexican driver is not fulfilling the minimum performance expectations that may trigger the exit clauses in his contract. If so, Daniel Ricciardo becomes an obvious candidate to replace Perez at the Milton Keynes outfit. However, Guenther Steiner doesn’t feel Ricciardo would get Perez’s seat.
Speaking on the Red Flags podcast, Steiner stated, “I give it a big chance that if he [Perez] doesn’t improve in the races before the summer break, after the summer break I think we may see somebody else in the car.”
When the hosts asked him who may replace the Mexican driver, Steiner replied, “I mean the obvious candidate is Liam Lawson. He is there. He’s ready to go. And he did a good job last year”.
While Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda have been in the fray to target Perez’s seat for 2025, Steiner doesn’t feel either of them is likely to get a promotion to Red Bull currently. About Tsunoda, the former Haas boss stated that the Japanese driver currently has a seat at V-CARB, while Lawson doesn’t.
On top of that, Red Bull risks losing out on Lawson entirely if they don’t assure him of a full-time seat for 2025 by September of this year. Thus, Lawson is also testing the RB20 this week at Silverstone, which may give the Austrian team some reference data on where the Kiwi driver is at relative to its current drivers.
Nonetheless, Perez’s form has become a cause of concern for Red Bull and an opportunity for drivers like Lawson, Ricciardo, and Tsunoda. However, besides this trio, even Carlos Sainz cannot be ruled out as he is still a free agent for 2025.
Steiner doesn’t feel Sainz has a chance for Perez’s seat
The former Haas boss also discussed Sainz’s situation, as the Spaniard is still searching for a drive for next season. While there was a possibility he may return to the Red Bull stable, potentially replacing Perez for 2025, the Mexican’s contract extension ruled that possibility out.
However, amid the current chatter on Perez’s form, Steiner doesn’t feel Sainz will replace the Mexican driver. While it is quite obvious that Sainz cannot join Red Bull mid-season, owing to his Ferrari duties, even for 2025, Steiner felt the Milton Keynes outfit would hesitate to take the 29-year-old.
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Steiner stated how the Spaniard did not leave the Red Bull stable in 2017-18 on good terms. During his debut year alongside Max Verstappen at Toro Rosso, there was a lot of friction between the duo.
Thus, Red Bull would be wary of pairing Sainz with the Dutchman again. Currently, the #55 driver is not hurrying his decision and enjoying his final season with Ferrari.
Besides, he has multiple offers from struggling teams like Alpine, Williams, and Sauber (to be Audi). Thus, Sainz doesn’t want to rush into a decision and then regret getting a better seat on the grid, like Mercedes or Red Bull. However, it seems unlikely that either Red Bull or Mercedes will sign him.
