Marko hints at post-Singapore target for second RB 2025 driver reveal

Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko says that the RB line-up will be revealed after next week’s Singapore Grand Prix as the team is yet to announce Yuki Tsunoda’s team-mate for 2025.

Tsunoda was confirmed for a fifth season with the team formerly known as AlphaTauri earlier this year, but it remains unknown whether the team will choose to persist with Daniel Ricciardo for another season.

If Ricciardo does not remain at the team, it may well opt for Liam Lawson – who drove in Ricciardo’s stead last year when the Australian was ruled out by a hand fracture following his FP2 crash at Zandvoort.

Isack Hadjar is another option, as the French racer is currently locked in an F2 title battle and RB may see fit to promote him into a race seat.

Isack Hadjar, Campos Racing

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“We have an idea, so just wait until Singapore,” Marko told Viaplay. “It’s still September and then we’ll have a clear picture.

“It will become clear there what will happen [with RB’s remaining 2025 seat].”

Autosport approached Marko for confirmation, and he confirmed that the RB seat will be announced at some point in the gap between the Singapore and Austin rounds.

Marko had previously told Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung that Liam Lawson “will definitely be in one of our cars next year”, and hence it would be logical that the New Zealander comes in to replace Ricciardo at the team.

Lawson had earlier tested a Red Bull RB20, considered as an audition for a full Red Bull drive as the team considered options to replace Sergio Perez at the team earlier this year.

Red Bull elected to back Perez during the summer break and kept him in the seat for the remainder of the season; although the Mexican is contracted for 2025, it remains unknown if he will retain his drive for another year.

Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing, Pirelli Test Monza

Photo by: Pirelli

Christian Horner refuted Marko’s earlier comment about Lawson, stating that the Austrian had “a drive. I asked him, quite clearly, he said he’ll have a drive in Formula 1 next year.

“We could rent him out. Nothing is fixed. If we don’t take up the option on Liam, then he’s a free driver for 2025.”

Lawson was also an option for Williams as it considered its options to replace Logan Sargeant after the Dutch Grand Prix, but eventually opted for its own junior driver in Franco Colapinto.

INSIGHT: Colapinto was brought in by Williams to score points, so will he?

Any confirmation of the RB drive would mean that the second Sauber seat remains the only available drive for 2025, with Valtteri Bottas and Gabriel Bortoleto the main options for the Swiss outfit.

Additional reporting by Erwin Jaeggi