Red Bull have key decision to make about final one (or two) seats in F1
F1 News
- Nicole Mulder
The F1 grid is nearly set for the 2025 season. In principal, there is a single seat left, at VCARB. The Red Bull family therefore gets to decide who will be the last driver, and it is possible that a second seat could also become available.
Red Bull/VCARB last F1 team with seat(s) for 2025
With Sauber announcing Gabriel Bortoleto, the penultimate F1 seat was filled. That means there is one spot left on the grid for 2025. Visa Cash App RB has not yet confirmed who will be Tsunoda's teammate next year, although Liam Lawson seems to have good cards given his recent performances.
It therefore seems plausible that the New Zealander will have the chance to compete his first full F1 season next year. However, that does not immediately mean that other candidates should give up hope: on paper, Sergio Perez has a contract at Red Bull Racing for next year, but there is no guarantee that he will actually keep his seat. As a result, another seat could be up for grabs.
Then it becomes interesting: should Red Bull part ways with Perez, will Lawson be promoted to the seat next to Max Verstappen or will Tsunoda get the chance? Or will they opt for talent outside of their pool with Franco Colapinto? The Argentinian doesn't have a seat at Williams, given that Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon are already signed.
The Austrian team could also look at their drivers in junior series. Isack Hadjar, who still has a shot at winning the F2 title against the aforementioned Bortoleto, was promoted to become reserve driver after Daniel Ricciardo was replaced by Lawson after the Singapore GP. The young driver could also be considered at RB, if either Lawson or Tsunoda gets promoted. Either way, Red Bull have the final decision to make in the 2024 silly season, and we may not know definitively what the grid will look like next year until after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
This article was writtten in collaboration with Kada Sarkozi
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