Red Bull senior figure names 2 drivers who will fight to become Max Verstappen’s teammate next season

After Daniel Ricciardo's exit from VCARB (Red Bull Racing's sister team), Helmut Marko will now be looking at the performance of both Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson. One of the two RB racers could well be driving alongside Max Verstappen next season.

With an overall decline in Sergio Perez's performance in 2024, Marko has been on the lookout for a new teammate for Verstappen for the 2025 season. As a Director and Head of Driver Development Program, he had three options between Ricciardo, Tsunoda, and Lawson to choose from.

However, following Ricciardo's exit following the Singapore GP weekend, Marko is shifting his focus on observing the remaining VCARB racers for the final six races of the season. He spoke about the same in an interview with Austrian publication ORF.

“I don’t know in how many races he [Lawson] was faster than Yuki, but that’s why we decided that now is the time to make a comparison with Yuki. Who of the two is the fastest? After that, it is up to the Red Bull hierarchy to decide who fits where in F1 2025," Marko commented.

The aforementioned news was also shared on X by an F1 fan page. Here's a look at the post, captioned:

"Helmut Marko says both Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda will compete for the Red Bull seat for 2025"

Although Tsunoda managed to outperform Ricciardo throughout the 2023 season, it will be interesting to see how his battle against Lawson goes.

Meanwhile, for Lawson, it is his second opportunity to prove himself at the pinnacle of open-wheel racing, after the stint with VCARB last year as Ricciardo's substitute.

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"He has to deliver a Formula 1 worthy performance" - Red Bull chief Helmut Marko's clear message for Liam Lawson ahead of the US Grand Prix

Liam Lawson has replaced Daniel Ricciardo for the second VCARB seat for the remainder of the 2024 season. Red Bull's Head of Driver Development Program Helmut Marko has sent a clear message to the young New Zealander ahead of the US Grand Prix at COTA.

Marko expressed his thoughts in a column for Austrian publication SpeedWeek.com.

“Liam Lawson can now contest the last six rounds of the World Championship for the Racing Bulls team, we will evaluate how he compares to Yuki Tsunoda and then we will see. He has to deliver a Formula 1 worthy performance, as he has already done in his previous GP appearances," Marko wrote.

"We have other strong juniors in the junior squad, such as Ayumu Iwasa and Isack Hadjar. We will use them in the rookie sprint, which is to be held after the season finale in Abu Dhabi on the junior test day. Then we will see how it goes," he added.

Lawson acted as Red Bull Racing's reserve driver this week ahead of the US GP. He took part in Pirelli's tire test, clocking 116 laps on the Mugello Circuit in Italy.