Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner admits it has both internal and external options when it comes to who will drive for the side in Formula 1 beyond the end of 2024.
Max Verstappen is currently tied down through 2028, but the future regarding who his team-mate will be for the duration of that contract remains undetermined at this stage.
Sergio Perez retains the drive and upholds a deal that covers next season. However, his position has come under intense speculation amid an alarming slump in form during 2023.
Despite Red Bull winning all but one of the 22 rounds to be held, Perez only took two victories – both within the first four races – and lagged 290 points behind Verstappen.
The pressure has been ramped up on Perez by the return of Daniel Ricciardo, who marked his F1 comeback with Red Bull’s sister outfit – AlphaTauri – earlier this year.
Horner confirmed that both drivers were in the frame for the vacant Red Bull seat in 2025, but also revealed that the team retain options outside of its motorsport stable.
“As a team you want to field the most competitive pairing you can,” he told Sky Sports News. “You want the right dynamic in a team and Max and Checo have been a successful pairing.
“Checo in his three years with us has finished fourth, third and second. He’s on a good trajectory. Daniel is well known to us.
“It’s great to have him back in the Red Bull fold. Everything is open for 2025 onwards, so for us to have options internally and externally is no bad place to be.”
One such name that has been persistently linked is Lando Norris, with the Briton even conceding that talks took place before he extended with McLaren until the end of 2025.
However, McLaren’s resurgence into regular podium contenders over the past campaign has reinforced Norris’ belief that the Woking-based squad is back on the “right track”.
Horner has reiterated that stability in the regulations will lead to the grid converging up, meaning that Red Bull won’t enjoy the same advantage as it did in 2023 next year.
“The RB19 has been the most successful car in the history of the sport so you can imagine that it’s a pretty attractive car to have been in,” Horner added.
“I think we’ve got great drivers – what will happen with stable regulations, it’s going to get a lot closer, we’ve got some great teams that we’re competing against. With stable regulations, 2024 is not going to be like 2023.
“We’re expecting a lot more competition from McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari and all of the drivers who are competing for them.”
