Red Bull Brings Questions on Itself With Recent Signings

Two big signings for Red Bull over the past couple of weeks have raised many questions about the organization.

Sergio Perez has been confirmed to remain with Red Bull Racing in a multiyear contract renewal that runs through 2026. A few days later, Yuki Tsunoda was confirmed for a seat at RB in 2025.

Both signings are intriguing, with 2025 being a gap year before new regulations and new OEMs in 2026. Perez being re-upped through the first year of the new regulations shows that the team has regained faith in the Mexican driver to work as a reliable two in the one-two organizational punch with Max Verstappen.

But Perez’s re-signing also sent a message to RB and the junior team drivers: there’s very little hope of moving up to the main team anytime soon. On paper, Tsunoda should have been promoted to the main team instead of staying on the B team.

But it’s clear that Red Bull do not see Tsunoda as main team material. His status as the lead B team driver is also likely over after next season when Honda will split from Red Bull. If Tsunoda were promoted to the main team or even released, what RB would do for its second seat would be relatively easy to understand.

Instead, what we see for 2025 is a lame-duck Tsunoda and one seat open for two drivers. Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 comeback has been a roller coaster of highs and lows so far, with the team seeming more uncertain as to whether he should be back next year.

Meanwhile, Liam Lawson was mightily impressive in a substitute role last season when Ricciardo was injured. Of Tsunoda’s three teammates last year, Lawson really seemed to be the only one to be a challenge to the Japanese driver.

But this year, Lawson has been stuck in a reserve role for both Red Bull Racing and RB. The New Zealand driver should clearly be on the F1 grid, but when Ricciardo returned to RB this year, there was nowhere for him to go.

Perez’s return to Red Bull changed a lot of things concerning Ricciardo. One could have seen a scenario where Perez came out struggling, and Ricciardo continued the form he began at Mexico City last season, with Ricciardo moving up to the Red Bull seat by mid-season.