‘Stalling’: Why one man holds keys to wild 2025 F1 shake-up
One man holds the keys to next year’s F1 grid, and with rumours flying about contract clauses, Daniel Ricciardo could be on the move.
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One man holds the key to the 2025 Formula One grid, and there is speculation he is stalling to keep his options open in case Red Bull hit the eject button on Sergio Perez.
With the ink barely dry from his a two-year contract extension, Perez’s form has brutally cratered.
Nico Hulkenberg has scored 16 points for Haas in the last two races, more than the 15 Perez has scored in his past six outings, where his results were 17th, seventh, eighth, DNF, 18th and eighth.
Max Verstappen has racked up 115 points in the same period.
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He finished 17th at the British Grand Prix in another horror result that left Christian Horner scratching his head as the language coming out of Red Bull intensified.
Perez himself labelled his result at Silverstone a “total disaster”, but insisted he has what it takes to remain Red Bull’s No. 2 driver.
Red Bull are still 71 points ahead of Ferrari in the constructors’ standings, but with McLaren and Mercedes coming hard, Horner said Perez’s form is “unsustainable”.
“He knows it’s unsustainable to not be scoring points,” the Red Bull team principal said after the British Grand Prix.
“We have to be scoring points in that car and he knows that. He knows his role and his target, so nobody is more eager than Checo to find his form again.”
According to Autosport, there is a performance-related clause in Perez’s contract that could allow Red Bull to terminate his deal mid-season.
Planet.f1 reports there are clauses in both Perez and Ricciardo’s contracts that would potentially allow Red Bull to do a mid-season driver change.
That report cites sources who say Red Bull can sack Perez in the summer break if he is more than 100 points behind Verstappen after the Belgian Grand Prix. He is currently 137 points behind Verstappen.
It would see Ricciardo rewarded for his solid form with a return to Red Bull mid-season and make Perez a free agent for 2025.
There is also the factor of young New Zealander Liam Lawson, who has been made to wait his turn as Red Bull’s reserve driver this year.
It appears increasingly likely Liam Lawson will step into Ricciardo’s seat at VISA Cash App RB when the Aussie’s contract ends at season’s end.
Former Red Bull driver Robert Doornbos believes an immediate change is needed and called for Lawson to replace Perez.
“Liam Lawson is testing that car, Max and Checo’s, the RB20, on this same circuit,” Doornbos told Ziggo Sport.
“You have to put him in, you have to do something now. You have no excuses anymore. The data does not lie.
“It’s a very difficult situation for Red Bull, because they let it fester for too long.”
The make-up of the 2025 grid may all depend on where Carlos Sainz decides to go.
The Spaniard is being replaced by Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari and is biding his time, keeping his options open for a move to Red Bull, Mercedes, Williams or Sauber.
Sainz has reportedly been offered lucrative long-term deals at Williams and Sauber (Stake F1), which will be taken over by Audi in 2026.
One fan wrote on Reddit: “I wonder if Sainz stalling is going to end up being a 200IQ move and he takes Perez’s seat.”
There are two more races this month in Hungary and Belgium, and Perez’s results there could decide his fate before F1’s mid-season break in August.
Mercedes appear to be tossing up between Sainz and academy product Kimi Antontelli, while holding out for the possibility of Verstappen leaving Red Bull in the wake of car designer Adrian Newey’s departure.
1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes Sainz is holding out for a move to Mercedes, adding “playing the waiting game” can be risky in F1’s world of musical chairs.
“He is still probably hoping for Mercedes, that Antonelli is not good enough so the seat is available for a few years,” Villeneuve said, per OLBG.
“But playing the waiting game you could find out you are the last one standing and the last one standing is not a positive here. At some point, you are bound to annoy other teams who have made you amazing offers. He seemed certain to be joining Williams, and then something happened.
“When you get a good offer and delay and delay at some point you will piss people off and they won’t want him. You end up signing very late and you make it obvious to that team that they were only your third choice. That is not the best thing to do either.”
Villeneuve added that Sainz’s habit of joining a team and making it better would be well suited to Williams as they look to rise up the grid.
“He got to McLaren and the team started getting better,” Villenueve said of Sainz.
“He left and it kind of plateaued and suffered when Ricciardo went there. Then he got to Ferrari and they started getting better.
“He has a great work ethic and the way he works with engineers, his feedback is great and it pays off. It has a lot of value. He is quick and competitive and he seems to react well under pressure.
“When he was dropped by Ferrari he did not react badly. He reacted like a cool cat. That makes a lot of difference. Teams like that. He would be great for Williams who need two drivers like that. They are on their way up.”
In another twist, there is talk that Sainz’s tactic of holding off contract talks could see Williams pull their offer and pursue Ricciardo instead.
At the British Grand Prix, leading F1 commentator Will Buxton said Ricciardo could end up at Williams if they get fed up of waiting for Sainz to commit to a deal.
“His entire future (is) on the line right now,” Buxton said of Ricciardo.
“There is much talk that he will be out of this seat after the summer break.
“There is talk that he may be in negotiations with Williams for their second seat next year alongside Alex Albon.
“Williams, as we understand, are sick of waiting for Carlos Sainz to make his mind up on where he wants to go next year and may close that door off for him.”
Elsewhere, Esteban Ocon will leave Alpine but is yet to sign for another team, while Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant are also out of contract.
2025 F1 grid, driver line-ups
Red Bull: Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc, Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes: George Russell, TBC
McLaren: Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri
Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll
VISA Cash App RB: Yuki Tsunoda, TBC
Haas: Ollie Bearman, TBC
Stake F1 team: Nico Hulkenberg, TBC
Alpine: Pierre Gasly, TBC
Williams: Alex Albon, TBC
Originally published as ‘Stalling’: Why one man holds keys to wild 2025 F1 shake-up
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