Red Bull driver sacking won’t fix main issue

As the 2025 F1 campaign nears its finale, reigning champion Max Verstappen is yet to find out who his team-mate will be next season.

Barring any late drama across the final two race weekends of the year, Yuki Tsunoda will have managed to stick it out alongside the Dutchman for 22 rounds.

The Japanese racer was handed the somewhat unwanted promotion up to Red Bull after just two races earlier this year, after the team decided Liam Lawson didn't have what it took to be Verstappen's team-mate for the rest of the campaign.

Since then however, Red Bull has evolved into a one-man team, with their star driver earning 366 of his team's 391 points so far.

Tsunoda will likely be facing up to the fact that his days in F1 are numbered and whilst Racing Bulls haven't confirmed their lineup for next season either, it's not looking promising for their former driver.

Red Bull are no stranger to sacking their drivers due to poor performance, and the 25-year-old looks to be next on the chopping block.

But what if this second seat problem Red Bull have created can't be fixed by sacking Tsunoda?

Is Verstappen the cause of Red Bull's second driver dilemma?

It hasn't escaped the F1 paddock just how impressive Verstappen has been this season given he is still in title contention with just two rounds to go despite also struggling with the RB21.

Following the sacking of Christian Horner, new team principal Laurent Mekies changed how Red Bull operated throughout race weekends, allowing Verstappen to steer the engineers more towards what he needed from the car.

But Red Bull has arguably always been geared towards Verstappen ever since he joined the team. And who's to blame them considering the Dutchman skipped F2 to compete in F1, breaking records with every pole position, podium and race win as he went.

This is an issue Verstappen's former team-mate Sergio Perez also shone a light on following his exit from Red Bull at the end of 2024 when he was dropped by the team.

"All the drivers who have arrived and those who will arrive will continue to have the same problems because it is a very complex car to drive, in which you have to constantly adapt to Verstappen's style," revealed Perez.

The Mexican driver makes a valid argument. If Red Bull have shaped their car design around Verstappen's driving style, then sacking Perez, Lawson, Tsunoda and the many who tried and failed to live up to the team's expectations, will only lead to disappointment.

F1 legend Martin Brundle joked earlier this year that Red Bull could only recover from their second driver issue if they officially became a one-man team, but what serious options do they have?

With a new set of regulations on the horizon, Red Bull face a tricky dilemma. Continue to design a car catered to the four-time champion or aim for machinery which is easier for his future team-mate to adapt to?

If they opt for the latter option, Red Bull risk losing the Dutchman to another team who can offer to pile all their resources into getting him back into the championship fight for 2027 and beyond.

With a long list of drivers whose careers have been ruined by Red Bull, that scenario would leave them desperate to rebuild with not much talent to choose from, hardly ideal if Verstappen was to be racing for a rival constructor.

F1 HEADLINES: Lando Norris 'embarrassed' as Red Bull 'laugh' at McLaren team orders

Related