Helmut Marko has provided a huge update on the 2025 Formula 1 driver market, as the Red Bull director has confirmed that they will have a rookie in one of their cars next season.
The Formula 1 driver market for 2025 has provided some of the more significant drama we've seen in several years, following the early season announcement of Lewis Hamilton's shock move to Ferrari.
Hamilton's move to partner Charles Leclerc at the Scuderia left Carlos Sainz without a seat, which sent the entire market into absolute meltdown as drivers waited to see where the Spaniard would end up.
After months and months of waiting for a potential opening at either Mercedes or Red Bull, Sainz eventually settled for a multi-year deal with Williams.
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The likely reason Sainz held out so long, is due to the persistent failure of Sergio Perez to get anywhere close to Max Verstappen in the Red Bull.
Despite Perez's performances, the Mexican was shockingly handed another contract extension by Red Bull over the summer, which was immediately reviewed following the Belgium Grand Prix.
Speaking on Perez's performances, Marko said: “If Checo consistently delivers his normal speed, we’ll be happy, but he always has these fluctuations somewhere, whether in qualifying or a certain section of the race. The consistency is not there, that’s the problem.”
Despite Perez's future being unclear, Marko made a shock announcement to Kleine Zeitung regarding one of Red Bull's four driver seats for 2025.
When commenting on the future of Liam Lawson, Marko stated: "Next year he’ll be sitting in one of our cars.”
Interestingly the Austrian didn't specify whether that would be a Red Bull seat, or their junior constructor Visa Cash App RB (or RB).
RB was introduced to create a pathway into F1 for Red Bull junior drivers but with 35-year-old Daniel Ricciardo in his second season with the team, it can't be particularly inspiring for young drivers like Lawson waiting for their chance.
While Lawson would come into F1 as a rookie, the Kiwi has raced in F1 before and was extremely unlucky to miss out on a 2024 seat following his brief spell filling in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo.
Lawson beat his teammate Yuki Tsunoda on four out of his five races, despite the Japanese driver having a full season of experience in the Alpha Tauri (now known as RB).
With Lawson seemingly confirmed for the 2025 grid, it will be interesting to see what that means for the future of both Ricciardo and Perez within the Red Bull Racing team.
Topics: Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen
Tom Jenkins