Sergio Perez is nearing the Red Bull exit door (Image: Getty)
Jenson Button believes that Yuki Tsunoda should partner Max Verstappen at for 2025 amid reports that will soon be shown the exit door. After a poor and costly 2024 campaign, Mexican Perez is set to finish miles off his partner’s pace – nearly 300 points, in fact.
Many have questioned whether Perez is fit for the role as he struggles to keep up with the Drivers’ Championship-winning Dutchman. Calls for him to be sent packing continue to sound, with an ousting supposedly to be decided on by his Austrian employers after Abu Dhabi.
With it being suggested that and Co would prefer to keep any promotion in-house, Button feels as though frontrunner Tsunoda has proven he is worthy of a call-up over the past few seasons and that he would be a ‘plug-and-play’ option for next term.
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Asked by Sky Sports whether Tsunoda would be suited to the step-up, Button replied: “Personally, I think yes. They keep throwing teammates at him, and he keeps kicking them away. He’s a very different Yuki from last year. He’s not as fiery as he was, and he’s getting the results.
“I think he’s the plug-and-play for that position. If it was me, I’m not sure I would want to step in the alongside , that’s the toughest drive in the pit lane, but if he’s up for it, great.”
This suggestion comes after a report from claimed that will hold a crunch meeting after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where it is expected Perez will be moved on.
Tsunoda is Button’s choice (Image: Getty)
However, instead of Tsunoda being the preferred candidate to supplant the Mexican, it is supposedly his current team-mate, Liam Lawson, who is set to receive the call-up.
Lawson became a member of the Junior Team in 2019, and, having been a reserve driver for both and AlphaTauri, was handed a lifeline at , replacing permanently in September after filling in for the injured Australian in 2023.
Yet, Button isn’t entirely convinced that 22-year-old Lawson would be the best fit to accompany Verstappen, adding: “Lawson, for me, needs to improve still and needs to show he can put in a good result.”