Liam Lawson news LIVE: Red Bull latest as Kiwi replaces Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s teammate

Christian Horner has revealed what Sergio Perez’s next move will be after Red Bull confirmed his exit following a disastrous 2024 F1 season.

The Mexican endured a torrid run of results this year as he finished eighth in the drivers’ standings – a mammoth 285 points behind teammate and champion Max Verstappen.

The 34-year-old’s sub-par performances ultimately cost Red Bull the constructors’ title as McLaren pipped Ferrari to the crown in the final race of the season, thanks to Lando Norris’s win in Abu Dhabi.

And Red Bull boss Horner has now explained what Perez will do ahead of the 2025 campaign, with no other seat lined up.

Valtteri Bottas has returned to Mercedes as the team’s reserve driver in 2025.

Sauber dropped the Finnish driver at the end of the 2024 season after three years together but Bottas will rejoin the Silver Arrows - where he raced from 2017-2021 - as backup to George Russell and Kimi Antonelli next year.

Bottas said: “I’m happy to finally answer the question I’ve posed over the past month. Returning home to the Mercedes family as Third Driver for 2025 is what’s next and I couldn’t be more pleased.”

“I would like to thank Checo for all he has done for Oracle Red Bull Racing over the past four seasons,” Team Principal Christian Horner said.

“From the moment he joined in 2021 he proved himself to be an extraordinary team player, helping us to two Constructors’ titles and to our first 1-2 finish in the Drivers’ championship.

“His five wins, all on street circuits, were also a spectacular mark of his determination to always push to the limit. While Checo will not race for the team next season, he will always be an extremely popular Team member and a treasured part of our history. Thank you, Checo.”

Cadillac have confirmed a “multi-year agreement” with Ferrari to supply the American team’s power units and gearboxes from 2026.

F1 rejected Andretti’s bid in partnership with GM earlier this year but with former boss Michael Andretti out of the picture, a GM entry led by businessman Dan Towriss – the majority shareholder of Andretti Global – is set to join for the season after next.

General Motors-owned Cadillac announced last week that former Marussia boss Graeme Lowdon will be their team principal when they join F1 in 2026

Worst race

Bahrain Grand Prix – For all the soap-opera off the track at the season-opener in Bahrain, it was business as usual for Red Bull on the tarmac. A one-two finish – and a dud of a race.

To much relief, it did not set the tone for the rest of the year.

On the podium: Japan, Monaco

Best race

Brazilian Grand Prix – A championship-deciding, drama-inducing weekend in Sao Paulo.

Heavy rain meant we had qualifying on Sunday morning and, such is the grid that formed, it looked set to result in a massive points swing in Norris’s favour. There were also five crashes in helter-skelter qualifying minutes.

But the race proved to be a masterclass in wet-weather driving from Verstappen. While others slipped and slid across the racetrack and into the walls, the Dutchman was the epitome of perfection.

Podium places: British Grand Prix; Austrian Grand Prix

Rising star

Ollie Bearman – A debut of dreams for the British teenager in Saudi Arabia, filling in seamlessly for Carlos Sainz to score points on his F1 debut for Ferrari.

From that moment on, his 2025 seat at Haas was virtually secured. He took his chance. It did not matter that he finished a lowly 12th in the F2 standings.

Podium places: Gabriel Bortoleto; Franco Colapinto

Overtake of the year

Alex Albon, Canada – This was a spectacular manoeuvre.

Down the back straight at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Albon weaved to the outside to surge past Ricciardo, before slipping ahead of Esteban Ocon down the inside before the final chicane.

Exquisite car placement in between two cars.

Podium places: Max Verstappen, Brazil; Oscar Piastri, Azerbaijan

Moment of the year

Lando Norris winning the Miami GP – This was a tough call. But Norris had been waiting for his first F1 victory for so long that, when it came, the jubilation was palpable.

It was also the first indication of McLaren’s rapid race-pace, setting up a thriller of a 2024 season.

Podium places: Lewis Hamilton wins British GP, Max Verstappen wins Brazil GP

Biggest disappointment

Daniel Ricciardo – This was a close-run thing between three drivers: Ricciardo, Sergio Perez and Logan Sargeant.

Sargeant’s axing after the Dutch Grand Prix had been some time coming and, given his consistent placing at the back of the grid, perhaps it wasn’t totally surprising.

Yet Ricciardo’s inability to produce even a glimpse of his prime speed was a mighty old shame. It was no secret that Perez’s Red Bull seat was up for grabs if he could. Therefore, the Aussie shades it.

Podium places: Sergio Perez, Logan Sargeant