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• Lawson and Tsunoda 'candidates' to replace Perez at Red Bull, says Horner

  Christian Horner suggested Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda could replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull, should they decide to part company with the Mexican.

  Perez, who signed a two-year contract extension following a strong start to the 2024 season, with four podiums in the first five races.

  However, he endured a difficult ending to the campaign, scoring just 49 points across the final 18 races to finish the World Drivers' Championship in eighth place, 285 points behind team-mate and champion Max Verstappen.

  Perez's season ended on the first lap in Abu Dhabi, when he was forced to retire following a collision with Valtteri Bottas.

  The Mexican's decline in form coincided with Red Bull failing to retain the World Constructors' Championship, as they lost out to McLaren.

  It has also led to speculation he will be replaced for the 2025 season, with Horner saying it was "crucial" for Red Bull to have "two drivers that are scoring on a regular collective basis in the constructors’ championship".

  And the team principal implied RB drivers Lawson and Tsunoda could be in contention to take the seat of Perez, with whom he will hold talks regarding their future intentions.

  "Obviously, those discussions will happen between [Perez] and the team," Horner said. "Now [we've got] the season out of the way, we'll sit down with him and reflect on the season, where it's gone wrong and, collectively, work out what is the right and appropriate way forward.

  "[Perez] has been a great server to this team. The contribution that he made - 2022 and 2023 constructors' championships, five race victories, second in last year's drivers' championship - he's done an awful lot for this team.

  "We'll sit down and reflect on this season and how we move forward. There's no immediate rush. We have all the permutations available to us internally, so I think the first thing is to sit down with [Perez] and have that conversation.

  "Sitting here now, he's still our driver, so it would be wrong for me to speculate on what next year may look like until he and I have sat down."

  On Lawson and Tsunoda, he added: "I think Liam, in challenging circumstances, has done a very good job. If you analyse what he’s done in the time that he’s had and the race pace he’s had, I think he’s done a good job.

  "I think Yuki's done a good job, so in the event that anything were decided with [Perez], they would be the candidates we would look towards.

  "Ferrari will be strong with their line-up next year, McLaren have a strong line-up, Mercedes will have an inexperienced driver in one of their seats. So for us, it's very important that both of our drivers are delivering and there's not a significant gap."

• McLaren chief Brown: Managing Norris and Piastri will be a challenge

  McLaren chief executive Zak Brown accepts managing Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri will be a challenge as the team-mates vie for the 2025 Drivers' Championship.

  Norris won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday, the last race of the 2024 Formula One season, to secure the Constructors' Championship for McLaren before declaring that "next year is my year".

  McLaren had not won a constructors' title since 1998.

  Piastri has also confirmed that individual glory is his aim for 2025 and Brown conceded that juggling the prospects of both drivers may prove challenging.

  He told Sky Sports News: "I think you want the clean sweep. Why not be greedy and say: 'I want the drivers' one and the constructors' too'?

  "That's the goal going into next year. Lando had eight poles – unbelievable. Oscar had a fantastic season, so I think we have two drivers that can compete for the Championship.

  "I'm sure all the men and women here will give them both another race car that's capable of winning races and fighting for the championship.

  "I'm sure it will be a challenge at times but we'll just take it one race at a time."

• Red Bull chief Horner predicts 'massively close' 2025 F1 season

  Red Bull chief Christian Horner predicted that the 2025 Formula One season will be "massively close" as he aims to fight back from losing the Constructors' Championship. 

  While Max Verstappen successfully defended the drivers’ title to become world champion for a fourth consecutive year, Red Bull were beaten to the teams’ crown by McLaren. 

  Ferrari also finished ahead of Red Bull in the standings, with Verstappen scoring 437 of his team's 589 points as Sergio Perez endured a difficult season on track. 

  It was the first time that the world champion driver had not been part of one of the top two teams in the constructors' standings since Nelson Piquet with Brabham in 1983. 

  Pushed on just how big the challenge will be for the team to raise their game again in 2025, Horner voiced his expectation that the margins will be incredibly fine amongst the leading four outfits on the grid. 

  "I think if you look at points from the summer break until before this race, Charles [Leclerc] was very slightly ahead in terms of individual points scored, so you can see it’s going to be massively close next year,” Horner said. 

  "You’ve got at least four teams that are going to be in contention – in the last year of these regulations – of winning Grands Prix, so I think the biggest winner will be Formula 1 next year.

  "I think that there’s going to be fine margins everywhere, and, of course, getting out the blocks as well is always imperative, but you can see it’s such a long season that consistency will be key."

  And despite their relative struggles in 2024 compared to the dominance they enjoyed in 2023, Horner believes that Red Bull have a lot to be proud of reflecting on the year.

  "It’s certainly been a busy year, off track and on track, but I think what is the most important thing to reflect on this year is the way that the team has stuck together, has worked as a team," Horner added. 

  "And whilst Abu Dhabi didn’t go our way, one week ago we won a big race in Qatar and the nine victories that we achieved [across the season with] all those things that I just mentioned.

  "If you weren’t comparing it to 2023 [when Red Bull won 21 out of 22 races], it’s still a hell of a year, so to all the men and women back at Milton Keynes who have worked crazy hours, they can be very proud of what they’ve achieved this year."