Christian Horner breaks silence after sacking Sergio Perez as he names ideal Red Bull replacement

Red Bull racing team principal Christian Horner has finally spoken out after sacking Sergio Perez, and he's named his ideal replacement.

After three years with Red Bull racing, Perez confirmed that he had left the Formula One team with an official statement on Wednesday.

The Mexican driver had been under considerable pressure throughout the 2024 season as teammate Max Verstappen continued to significantly outperform him.

And now that he has lost his seat at Red Bull, team principal Horner has spoken out to discuss exactly who he is looking for to replace Perez for the 2025 season.

While speaking to Sky Sports, the Red Bull boss confirmed exactly what the team want from their second driver, and even offered the two names that he is considering to drive alongside four-time world champion Verstappen.

"The most important thing for us next year is to make sure that we have two drivers that are performing as close as possible," he said

"It's going to be very tight next year so the decisions that we make will have that in mind. What is the best lineup that we can field at Red Bull racing?"

Throughout the season, Racing Bull drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson emerged as the two most likely candidates to take Perez's seat if he were sacked.

And Horner has finally confirmed that Red Bull will be choosing either one of the two drivers to partner Verstappen, with an announcement likely to come later this week.

Sergio Perez won five races for Red Bull. (Image: Getty)

"We have all of the information that we need. Essentially it will be a choice between Yuki and Liam," added Horner.

"Both have got strong credentials. We tested Yuki recently at test in Abu Dhabi for a chance for him to work with the engineering team.

"Liam has done a lot of testing with us behind the scenes this year as well and has driven very well in the six or seven races that he's had.

"So we have all of the information, we're just looking at it and considering it, speaking to the engineering team as well, and we'll come to a conclusion in the coming days."