Red Bull has a driver seat available for F1 2025. Now Helmut Marko confirms who is the team’s dream driver – next to Max Verstappen.
Max Verstappen continues to dominate in Formula 1in China he won the sprint and he also dominated F1 in China from pole position.
He has a contract with Red Bull up to and including 2028 and although there have been rumors that he might consider leaving the team – if the situation in the team does not calm down. Ever since Christian Horner was investigated for sexual harassment, there has been unrest in the team and there has been talk of a power struggle between Horner and motorsport boss Helmut Marko, who also has the support of the Verstappen family.
– I signed a long contract with Red Bull after 2021. The only thing I said I wanted was a calm and safe environment, Verstappen said before the Chinese GP.
Who will drive for Red Bull in F1 2025?
Next to him competes now Sergio Perez, he finished third in the Chinese GP. Perez’s contract expires at the end of the season and Red Bull have not yet decided whether he will continue to be trusted. Instead, the team talks to another driver.
– We talk to him. He is having his best season in Formula 1, confirms Helmut Marko Small newspaper from Austria.
Is Carlos Sainz a man for Red Bull in F1? His father Carlos Sainz who competes for Audi in Rally Dakar (AP-TT)
Sainz is the only driver not driving a Red Bull to win in the last two seasons. He has no place for next year. Ferrari opting instead for Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.
But he also has other options. Audi, which will become the majority owner of Sauber from 2026, would like to sign Carlos Sainz Jr and Nico Hülkenberg.
– He has a very lucrative offer from Audi. We can neither match nor outbid it. We know him well, he drove for Toro Rosso and even then he drove next to Max. Even then it hurt him when we chose to move Max to Red Bull and not him, says Marko.
After F1 in Japan, Carlos Sainz Jr said that he is talking to all the teams for F1 2025.
Which F1 team will Carlos Sainz drive for in 2025?
Marko also points out that Sergio Perez has made a good start to the season.
– If he delivers at the same level as he did during qualifying for the Japanese GP, I am sure he is the best option for Red Bull next year. He works for the team and has realized that the radical path he chose for the setup last year was not the right path. Now he is closer to Max and that helps him.
Marko also comments on the situation surrounding Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo in Racing Bulls. He believes that Ricciardo must be clearly faster than Tsunoda for him to reach a place at Red Bull and he also opens up the possibility that Riccardo could be forced to leave his place in F1.
If he continues to be dominated by Tsunoda.
– We have a strong reserve driver in Liam Lawson and it is stated in his contract that he can drive for another team if we do not have a place for him in 2025. Therefore it would be interesting for us if we could see him in F1 already this year. It could have given us a better picture, but it’s a complex theme and we’ll see how it goes.
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If you want to discuss yesterday’s race, you are welcome to do so below. What do you think of Daniel Ricciardo’s three-place penalty for the start of the GP in Miami? The fact that Lewis Hamilton now has three ninth place finishes in the last four races?
Lance Stroll’s breakout and Lando Norris’ strategy?
IndyCar
Felix Rosenqvist fell from pole position to ninth in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach after being forced to deal with overheating brakes during the 85-lap city race in California.
– We lost this race on the first stint today, says Felix Rosenqvist, who took the team’s first pole on Saturday.
– The rear brakes overheated considerably, so I had to move the brake balance forward to a point that we never normally use. We had very poor braking performance and I was overtaken several times in Turn 1 because of it. It becomes impossible to both defend and attack when the brakes don’t work as they should.
In the summary, Rosenqvist remains in place seven, Ericsson advances to place 12. Lundqvist is 18th man.
– It is of course frustrating to fall back like this, especially when you start in pole, but we have to take the positives with us. The car is fast, the team did a good job in the pit today, and we kept our composure despite the problems we had, says Rosenqvist.
– The car is fast, the team did a good job in the pit today, and we kept our composure despite the problems we had. We focus on the big picture and another top ten result is still good for us. Of course we wanted more today, but we have still had a very good start to the season.
The next round will be held at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama next weekend.
RESULTS
NTT INDYCAR SERIES | Rd. 2
Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach
Streets of Long Beach (USA)
1: Scott Dixon (NZL), Ganassi, 85 laps
2: Colton Herta (USA), Andretti, +0.979s
3: Alex Palou (ESP), Ganassi, +1.766s
4: Josef Newgarden (USA), Penske, +3.973s
5: Marcus Ericsson (SWE), Andretti, +4.376s
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9: Felix Rosenqvist (SWE), Meyer Shank Racing
13: Linus Lundqvist (SWE), Chip Ganassi Racing
