Guenther Steiner Hedges Bets on Carlos Sainz as Red Bull's Future, as Sergio Perez Comes Close to Bagging New Contracts

Guenther Steiner Hedges Bets on Carlos Sainz as Red Bull’s Future, as Sergio Perez Comes Close to Bagging New Contracts

Jun 1, 2024 | 8:44 PM EDT

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Max Verstappen has already lost 3 races in 8 rounds and Sergio Perez is not found on the podium half the times. Red Bull looks like it’s in a dire situation and maybe the best way to get out of this would be to replace Checo. Verstappen is still leading the drivers championship, but Checo fell to P5 from P2, losing the Red Bull 1-2.

The Spanish driver has been inconsistent with his performance and that’s being noticed by the qualifiers themselves. While there is no news from Red Bull about switching drivers, the talk around the paddock is that the team needs a faster driver in Checo’s seat. On the Red Flags Podcast, Guenther Steiner shared his thoughts on which driver, according to him, is the right choice for Red Bull.

Carlos Sainz is the best choice for Red Bull

On the Red Flags Podcast, the hosts start off the show with an explosive welcome as always, and joining them was Guenther Steiner for the very special episode. The topic of discussion was Monaco and it steered into Red Bull’s performance. Questions about who would be the right fit to replace Sergio Perez started to pop up and while Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon were mentioned, Steiner shared his top pick for the seat.

Guenther Steiner explained, “They’ve got options out there, like Sainz. You know Albon was out there. Obviously, now he’s not out there because he has signed for Williams, but it’s one of the things I don’t really know. And then maybe that attitude changes by not having the dominant car anymore because you need both drivers to score points, as we just said before.” Now that Ferrari and McLaren are catching up on the constructors championship, Red Bull has their work cut out for them.

As explained by Steiner, “They have two teams they’ve got this year, obviously, Carlos and Leclerc, and Carlos won a race this year, and McLaren has got Piastri that finished second at the Monte Carlo, he did a fantastic job, you know, and Norris, we don’t have to question him so many something changes in the way that Red Bull is thinking, I mean except Carlos there aren’t many choices out there anymore.”

Carlos Sainz is a race winner and a fantastic driver, as we have seen over the last 18 months. He has become more confident now that he has nothing to lose and he sure drives like it. The winner of the Australian Grand Prix has raced with Max Verstappen in Toro Rosso in their early years and fans would love to see the two fighting for the championship. Obviously, with Sainz, the team will be risking Max Verstappen’s race wins, as the Spaniard would not let a race go by. However, that’s something that Christian Horner has to decide and another fan favorite is Yuki Tsunoda.

Yuki Tsunoda’s shot at the Red Bull cockpit

Currently 10th in the drivers championship, Yuki Tsunoda has managed to score 19 points in the first 8 rounds of the season. Although he had a rocky start with no points in the first two races of the season, Australia treated him well. The Japanese driver came 7th before coming 10th in his home race. Still, that’s where he collected some precious points that put him in the top 10 bracket.

China was unfortunate for him because of the DNF, but Miami P7, Imola P10, and Monaco P8 show consistent results. He has been proving himself all season and this puts him in contention to replace Sergio Perez in the Red Bull. Behind an RB20 wheel, Yuki Tsunoda is expected to fight for the podium once he settles into the car. As of now, he is the only real contender to Carlos Sainz when it comes to the seat.

So now the question stands: will Sergio Perez get replaced in 2025? If yes, then with whom? Yuki Tsunoda or Carlos Sainz. Let us know your pick in the comments.