Christian Horner already knows Red Bull's next drivers and puts three names on the table

Christian Horner insists he already knows Red Bull’s next potential drivers as pressure mounts on Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez.

Ricciardo is widely expected to be dropped from the sister RB team after the Singapore Grand Prix, with Liam Lawson set to take his place from the United States Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Perez’s position has been scrutinised for much of the season and it is not certain he will see out the year alongside Max Verstappen, let alone keep his place for 2025.

Red Bull have had a revolving door when it comes to drivers, with numerous big names going through their system. Some are still in F1, like Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly.

Others, like Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat, dropped off the grid. Another, highly-rated Formula E ace Antonio Felix da Costa, never even made it to F1. Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle reeled off some of those names as he challenged Horner about Red Bull’s brutal driver strategy, suggesting they have been left with a weaker line-up as a result.

READ MORE: George Russell being considered by Red Bull for blockbuster move, confirms Christian Horner

READ MORE: Every word of Max Verstappen's extraordinary F1 press conference protest against the FIA

“It is a very good question,” said Horner ahead of qualifying 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.”

HAVE YOUR SAY! Should Red Bull give their drivers more time? Tell us in the comments section.

Horner highlighted two young drivers in their stable. He also insisted Red Bull would be prepared to look outside of their driver pool, intriguingly naming George Russell, whose Mercedes contract expires at the end of 2025, as a potential target.

"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 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."

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.