Helmut Marko names Red Bull driver ‘at top of list’ to replace Sergio Perez

Helmut Marko has warned Red Bull the championship titles are on the line

Carlos Sainz has suffered a fresh blow in his pursuit of an F1 2025 seat, with Helmut Marko declaring that Red Bull are set to promote from within if Sergio Perez is dropped.

Despite signing a new two-year contract as recently as last month, Perez finds himself under mounting scrutiny after a desperate run of form which has seen him score just 15 points across the last six races.

Carlos Sainz blow as Helmut Marko names ‘top’ choice to replace Sergio Perez

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

PlanetF1.com understands that a performance clause in Perez’s revised deal will give Red Bull the freedom to replace the Mexican driver during the summer break if he is more than 100 points adrift of team-mate Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ standings.

Perez currently trails Verstappen by 137 points ahead of this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix, the penultimate race before the August shutdown.

Sainz, who began his F1 career with Red Bull junior team VCARB (then Toro Rosso) in 2015, remains without a confirmed seat for F1 2025 having been informed last winter that he will be replaced by seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari at the end of the current season.

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The Spaniard has been linked with the likes of Audi, who will take over the existing team in F1 2026, as well as Williams and Alpine, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff refusing to rule out the possibility of signing Sainz as Hamilton’s successor.

Prior to Perez’s extension ahead of last month’s Canadian Grand Prix, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner also appeared open to recruiting Sainz, claiming after the Ferrari man’s win in Australia that “you couldn’t rule any possibility out” and admitting that the team may “look outside the pool” for Verstappen’s F1 2025 team-mate.

Speaking to Austrian publication Kleine Zeitung, however, Marko has ruled out the possibility of Red Bull reopening their interest in Sainz, insisting the team will consider in-house options if Perez is replaced.

And he revealed that Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson, who impressed in a five-race cameo for VCARB (then AlphaTauri) in mid-2023 and recently participated in a test at Silverstone with the Championship-leading RB20 car, is “at the top of the list” to succeed Perez.

Asked if Red Bull may consider Sainz to become Verstappen’s team-mate, Marko replied: ‘I assume that we will primarily make use of our existing drivers.

“We have three juniors who are ready for Formula 1, with Liam Lawson certainly at the top of the list.

“Behind him, there is also Ayumu Iwasa and Isack Hadjar.”

Marko’s comments come after PlanetF1.com learned ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend that Lawson is the most likely candidate to replace Perez if Red Bull decide to make a change during the F1 2024 season.

That is despite VCARB driver Yuki Tsunoda telling reporters on Thursday in Budapest that he is “ready” to become Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate, claiming it would be “weird” if Lawson were to get the nod ahead of him.

PlanetF1.com understands that Tsunoda is not being seriously considered as a potential replacement for Perez, with Daniel Ricciardo’s hopes of a return to Red Bull, with whom the Australian collected all but one of his eight career victories between 2014-18, also receding.

Hadjar, 19, is the current leader of the F2 feeder series standings and participated for Red Bull in the opening practice session at the recent British Grand Prix.

Marko revealed last month that Red Bull’s shareholders are keen to see the VCARB outfit return to its roots as a team to train young drivers, raising the prospect that the French-Algerian could be promoted to an F1 seat as soon as next season, potentially as Tsuonda’s team-mate if Lawson is fast-tracked to Red Bull.

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