Sergio Perez’s time at Red Bull seems to be running out right now. Despite winning 6 Grand Prix in his career the Mexican is finding it very hard to keep up with his teammate, Max Verstappen in the 2024 season. Taking his last five races into account, Checo has only brought 11 points for the Red Bull. To make matters worse he retired twice first at the Monaco GP and then again in Canada. Leading to a stark difference in both the RBR drivers’ performance statistics. Meanwhile, Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes are all eyeing to usurp Red Bull’s Verstappen, as the team seems completely dependent on their Dutch recruit to score Championship points.

Earlier this year, Red Bull extended its deal with Sergio Perez for two more years. But if the 34-year-old wants to stay with the Milton-Keynes team, he must get some hopeful results. While teams like McLaren and Mercedes boast podium finishes in back-to-back weeks. Just look at Lewis Hamilton‘s scintillating 2024 British GP victory! Checo is still far behind and consequently has left the RBR team in a precarious situation in the fight for the Championship title. Moreover, his latest finish out of the point-scoring places at the British GP even made Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner worried.

The Brit spoke about how it would be ‘unsustainable’ if Sergio Perez continues to perform poorly for his team. However, there is a way to avoid this scenario completely, according to former Haas boss Guenther Steiner. The Italian has given his opinion that Red Bull should activate the performance clause in its contract with Perez to oust the Mexican from the team. Specifically, Guenther spoke on the Red Flags Podcast, saying, “Let’s say, in the scenario where Checo does not improve his performance, he [should be] replaced mid-season.”

With 12 Grands Prix having already taken place in 2024, only two races are left before the F1 summer break kicks off. Guenther Steiner wants Red Bull to watch Perez’s performance till then before showing him the doors. The 59-year-old said, “If he [Perez] doesn’t improve in the races before the summer break, after the summer break, we may see somebody else in the car. Who? I mean, the obvious candidate is Liam Lawson. I mean, he’s there, you know. He’s ready to go and he did a good job last year.” Thus, Steiner wants to place his bets on Lawson to replace Perez at Red Bull.

On Thursday, Liam Lawson has a major Red Bull test drive session coming up, where he will be at the helm of the RB20. What did Christian Horner say when speculations ran about the test being Lawson’s ticket to Checo’s RBR seat?

Christian Horner jokes about Liam Lawson’s Red Bull future

In 2019, Liam Lawson first entered the Red Bull umbrella and he has remained as the Reserve Driver for RBR and its sister team AlphaTauri (now VCARB) ever since. The former Formula 2 star even got a chance to substitute Daniel Ricciardo at five races last year, amongst which, his performance at the Singapore GP wowed everyone. As the New Zealander got his first career F1 points at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, pundits called upon Red Bull to offer him a seat.

Now that Sergio Perez’s place at the current Championship-winning team looks flimsy, Liam Lawson might be the perfect candidate to replace him. The 22-year-old is getting a Red Bull test drive too, which has sparked rumors that he might land Perez’s seat if his results from the test are positive. But dismissing these rumors, Red Bull boss Christian Horner joked, “I’m actually doing a lap at Silverstone in the RB8 on Thursday as well, so you never know.” Thus, the Brit is not prepared to admit that Liam Lawson’s test holds any importance in Red Bull’s decision to take up the former F2 star in Checo’s place.

No matter whether Liam Lawson lands the Red Bull seat or not, the team’s Chief Advisor, Helmut Marko, has indicated the Hastings native will get an F1 seat in 2025. If not RBR, it might be Daniel Ricciardo’s Visa CashApp Racing Bulls seat that Lawson will clinch. Do you think it would be wise of VCARB to oust an 8-time F1 Grand Prix winner to welcome a rookie to the team? Share your opinions in the comments below.