Christian Horner has defended Red Bull's brutal driver strategy as he named four potential future options. Another Red Bull racer is set to be axed mid-season with Daniel Ricciardo, of the sister RB squad, widely expected to be replaced by Liam Lawson after the Singapore Grand Prix.
Lawson impressed when deputising for the injured Ricciardo last season. Meanwhile, Sergio Perez's position in the main team is far from secure. The Mexican could be replaced for 2025, and possibly sooner if his struggles continue.
The Red Bull revolving door has seen numerous drivers pass through their system over the years. Some are still in F1, like Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly.
Others, including Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat, dropped off the grid. Another, respected Formula E ace Antonio Felix da Costa, never even made it to F1.
Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle reeled off some of those names as he quizzed Horner about Red Bull's decision-making, suggesting they have been left with a weaker line-up as a result.
"It is a very good question," said Horner in Singapore. "We have given a great opportunity to many young drivers, some who you mentioned there. The Red Bull system does demand performance and does demand results.
"Of course, Max is delivering. Checo has been underperforming this year, but last year he did a good enough job to finish second and win us the Constructors' Championship.
"We need to look further down the road, we have got some great talent. We have got Liam Lawson on the bench. We are not quite sure, looking at the likes of [Franco] Colapinto, [Oliver] Bearman and [Kimi] Antonelli, is he at that level? Time will tell."
Horner highlighted two young drivers in their stable and insisted Red Bull are prepared to look outside of their pool, naming George Russell, whose Mercedes contract expires at the end of 2025, as a possible option.
"We have got Isack Hadjar in Formula 2, who until recently was leading that championship," he said. "We have got a very promising talent that I am particularly excited about in F3 in Arvin Lindblad.
"We have got a lot of depth in our junior programme. We have got a gap now but we just want to take time to consider what those options look like for the future.
"We're not afraid to go out of the pool. George Russell is out of contract at the end of next year and it would be foolish for us not to take that into consideration. There are other talented drivers who could well be out of contract as well."
