Red Bull could replace Sergio Perez with another driver on their books – and it's not Daniel Ricciardo.
The Mexican has done well since joining Red Bull, improving all the time and doing what the team needs him to do – win when Max Verstappen isn't able to. He demonstrated that perfectly at last month's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, when the Dutchman was hampered by a mechanical issue in qualifying.
But, at the age of 33, Perez is not the long-term solution. His current contract expires at the end of the 2024 season, by which point he will be close to his 35th birthday.
To plan for the future, Red Bull will no doubt assess all their options at that time in terms of who would partner Verstappen, who has a deal until the end of 2028. Current reserve driver Ricciardo will also be in his mid-30s and, if he has his own way, already in another race seat on the grid by then.
If Franz Tost's theory is correct, Red Bull may well turn to Yuki Tsunoda to fill that seat. The AlphaTauri chief has been very impressed with the way the Japanese racer has started the new season, and feels a move to the sister team could be on the cars in the future.
"Yuki drove two extremely strong races so far," said the veteran team boss. "I am very happy with him. It's not his fault that we aren't competitive yet." Tsunoda went on to score his first point of the season in an action-packed Melbourne race, after two impressive but frustrating 11th-placed finishes.
Tsunoda still has plenty of time to improve but is already quite experienced, starting his third Formula 1 season at the age of 22. He has struggled to perform at times over the past couple of seasons and has also been criticised for his fiery temperament at times.
But the young racer labelled a "problem child" last year by Red Bull's Helmut Marko seems to have gained better control of his emotions of late and is beginning to show more of his undeniable talent. And Tost believes it won't be long until he is ready for his shot at the top team.
He added: "As far as I know, Sergio Perez still has a contract for next year. All I can say is that Yuki is on the right track. He has improved in every respect. But I think he should drive at AlphaTauri again in 2024. In 2025, I think he will finally be ready for Red Bull."
