Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has confirmed Yuki Tsunoda has emerged as a candidate to race alongside Max Verstappen next year.
Sergio Perez was retained for another two seasons earlier this year - however the Mexican has since endured a difficult stretch of form which placed his immediate future beyond the summer break in doubt.
While he was kept for the remainder of the season, his position in the team for 2025 is under question.
Should Red Bull opt to make a change, Marko has signalled that Tsunoda could be considered as Perez's replacement.
“Tsunoda is a candidate to drive alongside Max in 2025,” Marko told F1 Insider.
Liam Lawson will partner Tsunoda at RB for the remainder of the season as Marko hinted there is a significant chance one of them will move to the senior team next year.
“The remaining races of this season will decide what our driver pairings will look like for next year,” he said.
“I can very well imagine that a junior driver will drive alongside Max.
“We decided to compare Lawson and Tsunoda. They have the same material, the same conditions and each now has six races to prove that he is the better one.”
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Red Bull looking to young driver 'philosphy'
Red Bull has not promoted a true junior to its front-running squad in 2019 when Pierre Gasly replaced Daniel Ricciardo.
It has since employed the services of Alex Albon and Sergio Perez but now has a plethora of talent on the fringes of making a move to F1.
Marko signalled Red Bull is looking to shift back to its philosophy of providing young drivers with an opportunity to make their debuts in F1.
“We started with the philosophy of giving young drivers a chance in Formula 1,” stated the Austrian.
“Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo are just three examples.
“The others are now following this philosophy.
“Mercedes is giving Kimi Antonelli a chance, Haas Oliver Bearman, Williams Franco Colapinto and it seems that, fortunately, Audi is now seriously considering the young Mick Schumacher.”
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It has been a year since Max Verstappen won his third F1 title - with six grands prix to spare. Now Verstappen is in a fight this year, and with Red Bull under pressure to deliver him a car to retain his crown. Join RacingNews365's Ian, Sam and Nick as they discuss this and more ahead of the final six races.
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