Since 2018, it has been clear who the number one driver is at the Milton Keynes-based outfit. After he fell behind Verstappen that year, Daniel Ricciardo departed Red Bull for Renault and was replaced by Pierre Gasly.
In 2019, the Frenchman lasted just 12 races with the team – registering a best finish of fourth at Silverstone while Verstappen managed two wins and five podiums in that time – before he was demoted back to Toro Rosso – now Racing Bulls – and replaced by Alex Albon.
The Thai driver fared no better, scoring two podiums in a year and a half with Red Bull before being dropped by the organisation entirely at the end of 2020. Sergio Perez joined the team in 2021 but struggled badly in comparison to Verstappen in his four seasons there, particularly in 2024.
| Category | Sergio Perez | Max Verstappen |
| 2024 points | 152 | 437 |
| Grand Prix results | 1 | 23 |
| Grand Prix qualifying | 1 | 23 |
| Grand Prix wins | 0 | 9 |
| Grand Prix poles | 0 | 8 |
| Grand Prix podiums | 4 | 14 |
| Best finish | 2nd | 1st |
| Retirements | 4 | 1 |
| Retirements (classified finish) | 1 | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 1 | 3 |
| Grand Prix points finishes | 16 | 23 |
| Sprint results | 0 | 6 |
| Sprint Qualifying | 0 | 6 |
| Sprint wins | 0 | 4 |
| Sprint poles | 0 | 4 |
| Sprint podiums | 2 | 4 |
The Mexican outqualified and outraced Verstappen once all season, failing to finish inside the top five after Miami and ultimately cost Red Bull the Constructors’ Championship while his teammate won his fourth consecutive title.
After finishing eighth in the standings, Perez confirmed his exit from Red Bull at the end of the year, with Liam Lawson set to replace him.
Over the years, many have wondered how Lewis Hamilton would fare as Verstappen’s teammate, and the Dutchman once gave a definitive answer as to why that would not work.
Verstappen and Hamilton have been championship rivals for several seasons, and their rivalry reached boiling point in 2021 after the former beat the latter to the title at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi in a highly controversial fashion.
Their competitiveness on track has led many to ponder and mull over the idea of the two champions being teammates and who would come out on top.
Hamilton has been previously linked with Red Bull several times in his career, but in an interview with The Telegraph before the 2024 season, Verstappen claimed that he and the Brit ‘would never work’ as teammates as it would be just one car competing for the championship.
“It would never work anyway,” he said. “For sure we would be trying to beat each other.
“But I think it’s also good to have us in different teams. For me, the important thing is that our rivals make sure they’re competitive enough to battle it out.
“Because otherwise it doesn’t matter who you put next to each other, there is only one car winning the championship again. And that’s not what you want as a fan.”
In the present day, Lawson will be the fifth driver to partner Verstappen in seven years, and many are wondering if he will be the next to be dominated by the Dutchman in 2025.
Lawson impressed with Racing Bulls in two separate spells in 2023 and 2024 and got the nod over his teammate Yuki Tsunoda for the seat at Red Bull.
Christian Horner felt Lawson demonstrated ‘the right mindset’ for the team, hence why he landed the seat next to Verstappen.
While he has shown glimpses of his talent in F1, the Kiwi driver will need to make a huge step up in 2025 if he does not want to be the next to suffer the same fate as his predecessors.
Lawson does not expect to fight for the championship straight away with Red Bull, but he is looking to right Perez’s wrongs in 2024 and help the team fight for the constructors’ title again.
