Red Bull not 'overlooking' Tsunoda – Marko

Nov.30 (GMM) Dr Helmut Marko insists Red Bull is not “overlooking” Yuki Tsunoda as a candidate to potentially replace the underperforming Sergio Perez next year.

While Max Verstappen squeezed out P6 in sprint qualifying in Qatar, Perez’s woes continued as he lines up ten places lower. The Mexican, in part, blamed a run-in on track with Charles Leclerc.

“I don’t know exactly what happened with Charles,” said team boss Christian Horner. “Unfortunately Checo just didn’t manage to get enough out of the car to get into SQ2.

“Checo really needs a good result now,” he warned. “He’s had a really terrible season since Monaco.”

As recently as Thursday in Qatar, 34-year-old Perez was still insisting that – with his signed contract for 2025 – he will still be Verstappen’s teammate in 2025.

But team advisor Marko has been saying for several days now that a post-Abu Dhabi GP meeting will determine Perez’s fate.

McLaren’s Lando Norris thinks Verstappen has a much easier life without a competitive teammate, while Red Bull blames Perez’s struggles on not winning the 2024 constructors’ championship.

Some in the paddock believe Red Bull has already done a deal with Williams for the release of Franco Colapinto next year. Williams boss James Vowles denies it.

“There is interest,” Vowles admitted on Friday, “but more than that, I can’t really say at this point in time. I think those teams need to figure out what seats they have and don’t have going into next year before we can ascertain where he’s going, if he’s going there.”

Indeed, given the Argentine rookie’s recent crashes, it is believed Colapinto could actually be placed at RB rather than the senior team next year.

The 21-year-old even thinks he could be without a seat in 2025 at all, given that Carlos Sainz is arriving full-time next year. “If I no longer have a steering wheel next year, I’ll just wait,” Colapinto told L’Equipe.

The bigger candidate to replace Perez is Liam Lawson, even though the New Zealander has not even been guaranteed a continuing seat with the junior team.

“My performances are being assessed and these races could be important,” he said. “But I don’t know where I’ll be racing next season, and even if I’m in the championship.

“Overall, the results haven’t been bad, if we don’t talk about Vegas. “I can’t afford two more weekends like that,” Lawson added.

Logically, Tsunoda – given his experience and progression – should be the favourite to replace Perez. It is believed Red Bull favours him less because of his ties to Honda, who will depart for Aston Martin in 2026.

The Japanese driver indicated in Qatar that he feels overlooked by Red Bull Racing.

“We certainly are not overlooking him,” Marko insists. “We follow him closely. He had two very good races in Brazil and Las Vegas, but he also crashed twice in Mexico.

“He is getting his emotions under control more and more,” the Austrian added, agreeing that Lawson and Tsunoda are the main contenders to potentially replace Perez.

“I would say yes. The engineers and other people involved will make an evaluation,” Marko continued. “The problem with Yuki is mainly that he is not consistent. He made unforced errors this season, as they say in tennis. He is improving.”

Marko, though, said Red Bull cannot ignore Perez’s underperformance. “You won’t become world champion with just one car,” he said.

As for team boss Horner, he concluded: “We are trying to help Checo and I really hope he can do two strong races.”

And regarding 2025, Horner added: “It depends on Checo. He is our driver and has a running contract. I will only talk about other drivers once he has decided with the team what he wants to do next season.”