Within less than a day of the F1 action returning in Zandvoort, Red Bull’s driver situation is stealing the headlines. Helmut Marko recently claimed that Liam Lawson has already been allocated a place on next year’s grid. However, not for the first time in recent months, Christian Horner has contradicted the 81-year-old. The Red Bull team principal says that a decision hasn’t been made for next year.
Christian Horner: Red Bull yet to make 2025 commitments
Throughout the last few months, the narrative surrounding Red Bull’s driver pairing has changed on several occasions.
From offering Perez a two-year deal in June to setting a form of ultimatum before the Belgian GP, the reigning Champions have shown very little clarity about their situation.
Even within the team, persistent disagreements are clear within the hierarchy. Helmut Marko and Christian Horner often make opposite statements, especially regarding Ricciardo, Perez and Lawson.
Speaking to Sky Sports in Zandvoort, Horner refuted Marko’s claim that Lawson is guaranteed a seat next season:
“Nothing is fixed. At the moment, we’ve still got a few weeks to make those decisions.
“Obviously, we know the situation with Checo, and the contract that he has.
“With Daniel and Liam, there are options within their agreements that, obviously, we won’t talk about in public until things are concluded.”
Of course, these quotes do not necessarily mean that Helmut Marko’s comments are incorrect. It is plausible that Horner wants to keep an element of ambiguity about Red Bull’s plans rather than giving everything away.
Then again, there is an obvious divide within the Austrian outfit. Red Bull have demonstrated an inability to put someone alongside Max Verstappen capable of matching his level.
Since Ricciardo left for Renault in 2019, the Austrian team’s decisions on driver pairings have been questionable at best. With rival teams making rapid progress, they cannot rely on the same performance advantage that overshadowed this issue in 2023.
As ever, the situation at Milton Keynes is unpredictable and likely to evolve in the coming weeks.
