Red Bull Racing is getting ready to shake up its driver lineup for 2025, with plans to replace Sergio Perez.

The Mexican has struggled with performance, leading to strong rumors that Red Bull will part ways with him, even though he’s under contract until the end of 2026.

The team reportedly wants to let Perez retire on his own terms but is also willing to pay him off if needed. Regarding that, it was confirmed that the final decision will be made after the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Yuki Tsunoda, a standout driver for Red Bull’s sister team, RB, has been putting in strong performances over the five years in Formula 1, with many finding it logical that he could step up to Red Bull’s main team.

He scored 30 of the team’s 46 points this season and has often outperformed teammates like Daniel Ricciardo, Nyck de Vries, and Liam Lawson.

Despite this, Red Bull doesn’t seem convinced he’s ready for a spot on the senior team and even though he has a test scheduled in the RB20 next week, this opportunity is seen more as a gesture to Honda, Tsunoda’s backer, than a genuine evaluation.

Tsunoda himself has expressed confusion and frustration over the fact that he is sort of getting overlooked by Red Bull

“I don’t know,” he, quoted by Motorsport Week, answered when asked if he thinks he is a serious contender for Perez’s seat.

“Please could you interview them [Red Bull] and find out?

“To be honest, I don’t know. Even whatever they say in the interview, even they say, ‘Yuki is in the mix’, I don’t know if that’s the truth or not to be honest.

“So, yeah, I hope I’m in that mix, and if not, I don’t know what I should do more than this, to be honest.

“I’ll just keep pushing and things I can control. And those things, the Red Bull seat, they decide everything.

“I’m sure if I’m in the seat, I can fight for a higher Constructors’ Championship [position] and what they want.

“But, other things, politics things. They decide what they want.”

Meanwhile, Liam Lawson is considered the favorite to replace Perez, but why exactly is that?

Lawson impressed the team in 2023 during his substitute appearances for 5 races, after Ricciardo broke his wrist, and is seen as a better long-term fit to partner Max Verstappen.

Red Bull also seems to believe Lawson is more dependable over a race distance, while Tsunoda’s strengths might lie more in qualifying.

On top of that, Yuki is known for sometimes expressing his emotions too much over the radio, resulting in aggressive messages which Red Bull’ advisor Helmut Marko doesn’t particularly like, even describing Tsunoda as a ‘problem child’.

Recently the Austrian also said: “Yuki has the speed, but he lacks continuity and stability. But when it works for him, it works very well.”

If Lawson gets the seat, it would confirm Red Bull’s doubts about promoting Tsunoda, keeping him in the junior team until Honda’s exit in 2025, after which his F1 spot could be potentially in danger.