Three Red Bull driver developments involving Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson
Sergio Perez is currently fighting to save his Red Bull F1 seat
Saturday’s F1 news is dominated by an update on Red Bull’s driver situation with Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson involved and Christian Horner facing difficult questions on the matter.
Qualifying for the British Grand Prix took place today too, but who cares about that with a prized F1 2025 seat potentially up for grabs?
F1 news: Red Bull’s driver dilemma with Sergio Perez seat under scrutiny
Sergio Perez defiant on Red Bull future
Sergio Perez has insisted that his Red Bull future is not a topic of conversation, with his place in the team “done and dusted” after signing a new contract as recently as last month.
Red Bull announced ahead of the recent Canadian Grand Prix that Perez had signed a new two-year contract to remain with the team until the end of the F1 2026 season.
With Perez still struggling for form, however, PlanetF1.com reported on Friday at Silverstone that Red Bull have not ruled out a mid-season seat swap with Ricciardo.
Perez’s season slumped to a new low when he fell in Q1 in qualifying, but was defiant on the subject of his future after the session.
Read more: Sergio Perez issues ‘done and dusted’ Red Bull verdict with promise made
Daniel Ricciardo teases ‘crazy things happen’ as speculation mounts
Daniel Ricciardo has teased that “crazy things happen” in F1 as speculation mounts that he could replace Perez before the end of F1 2024.
Ricciardo has made no secret to reclaim his former Red Bull seat since returning to F1 with VCARB (then AlphaTauri) a year ago, but the 35-year-old has largely struggled since his comeback.
More recently, Ricciardo has been linked with losing his current seat rather than a promotion, but the Australian left the door open to a Red Bull return after qualifying at Silverstone.
Read more: Daniel Ricciardo teases ‘crazy things happen’ over huge Sergio Perez seat swap
Liam Lawson to drive Red Bull RB20 at Silverstone
Red Bull will field Liam Lawson at the wheel of the RB20 car for a filming day at Silverstone in the coming week.
The Championship leaders will use up their second filming day of the year this coming week at Silverstone, with Lawson being given the responsibility of driving the RB20.
Lawson has been heavily linked with an F1 promotion recently, with Helmut Marko indicating this week that the team intend to offer the New Zealander a seat for F1 2025.
Read more: Liam Lawson set for critical Red Bull test as Perez, Ricciardo rumours swirl
Christian Horner receives ‘brutally hard’ grilling on Red Bull driver situation
Christian Horner has admitted it is “brutally hard” to answer the question of whether Red Bull committed to Perez too soon by tying him to a new deal.
Horner claimed it made “absolute sense to sign Checo at that point in time” and admitted the team were hoping to help the Mexican avoid a repeat of his mid-2023 slump.
Read more: Christian Horner gets ‘brutally hard’ grilling on Sergio Perez after Daniel Ricciardo rumours
Esteban Ocon reportedly signs Haas F1 2025 contract
And in other non-Red Bull driver market news…
Esteban Ocon has signed a contract to become Oliver Bearman’s team-mate at Haas for the F1 2025 season, it has been claimed, with an announcement expected prior to the summer break.
Ocon’s impending arrival will almost certainly signal the end of Kevin Magnussen’s F1 career, with Haas poised to field an all-new lineup in F1 2025.
Read more: Haas complete F1 2025 driver line-up with Oliver Bearman team-mate found – report
