Driver merry-go-round coming to Red Bull for 2025 F1 season?

Over the past few seasons, driver Sergio "Checo" Perez has been a loyal servant for Red Bull, helping Max Verstappen and the Formula 1 team by earning crucial podiums.

This season, however, Perez's form has taken a steep nosedive with poor performances in qualifying and in races, causing team boss Christian Horner to admit that Red Bull could be forced to reevaluate the driver's position on the team. 

"I think we've done everything that we can to support Checo, and we'll continue to do so in Brazil (Friday-Saturday at the Lenovo São Paulo GP), but there comes a point in time that you can only do so much," Horner said, via Formula1.com.

If Perez is out at Red Bull shortly, this could lead to a merry-go-round effect that would shake up the grid and make for an interesting 2025 season. 

At the moment, three drivers on the grid could replace Perez for Red Bull: Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson (who both drive for Red Bull's sister team, VCARB) and 21-year-old Williams driver Franco Colapinto.  

While speaking with Auto Motor Sport (via Last Word On Sports), Horner admitted his interest in bringing Colapinto to one of the Red Bull teams. Colapinto, however, would likely head to VCARB, meaning either Tsunoda or Lawson would get called up to the first team. 

Tsunoda has the most experience of the three drivers when it comes to the Red Bull teams, having been driving for the sister team since 2021 when it was still known as Alpha Tauri. If Perez's replacement were based on merit, Tsunoda would be the clear winner. However, it isn't known what Red Bull may be looking for.

Lawson, who is filling in for Daniel Ricciardo at VCARB for the remainder of 2024, is without a seat for 2025. However, it is widely expected the 22-year-old will be driving for one of the Red Bull teams next season.

Possible partnerships for the Red Bull teams in 2025 could be:

• Verstappen-Tsunoda at Red Bull 
• Verstappen-Lawson at Red Bull
• Tsunoda-Colapinto at VCARB
• Lawson-Colapinto at VCARB

In the short stints they have had in Formula 1 this season, Lawson and Colapinto were shining stars. Both have finished races in the points, putting on impressive performances for their ages and showing they deserve to have seats on the grid next season. Whether that is with Red Bull or VCARB is open to speculation. 

Red Bull sits third in the Constructor standings, behind McLaren and Ferrari, after dominating the past two years. 

Red Bull is desperate to strengthen its lineup for the 2025 season to get back to its dominating ways. Bringing in one of these drivers to partner with Verstappen, while keeping the other two on the sister team in case they are needed, could be the right formula for Red Bull.