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The original was posted on /r/formula1 by /u/BenitoCamiloOnganiza on 2024-09-29 21:51:24+00:00.

Fans and media outlets have been outwardly trying to fire Checo since summer of last year, and in light of his underwhelming performances compared to Max and the other drivers at top teams, it’s certainly understandable. Many say that the reason he is still there is because of the money he brings in, but I don’t think it’s that simple. Around half of the drivers on the grid (if not more) would not be a clear upgrade over Checo, while the drivers who are clearly better than him would not want to be Max’s number 2 (and aren’t currently available anyway).

Let’s have a look at the drivers who are available:

Red Bull family:

Yuki Tsunoda: looks like he is stuck indefinitely in whatever the junior team is called. Was solidly beaten by Gasly, who also couldn’t take Checo’s seat. Has probably improved since then, but he hasn’t had good benchmarks. Probably wouldn’t do a better job than Checo.

Daniel Ricciardo: hasn’t performed since 2021. Has been beaten by Yuki.

Liam Lawson: if he proves himself against Yuki, he’s a chance for that seat in 2026 or maybe summer 2025, but he certainly hasn’t yet proven himself to be a clear upgrade over Checo yet.

Other Red Bull junior drivers: certainly aren’t going to be thrust into a team fighting for championships without a single F1 race under their belt.

Other available drivers:

Valtteri Bottas: Is he better than Checo? At Mercedes, he was definitely faster and more consistent, but his racecraft is poor. He would be a sidegrade at best, and probably isn’t interested in being Max’s number 2.

Zhou Guanyu: is clearly worse than Checo.

Kevin Magnussen: has been beaten soundly by Hulkenberg over the last two years. He’s a sidegrade at best, but I’d be inclined to say that he’s worse than Checo.

Franco Colapinto: some promising performances against another failed Red Bull driver, which certainly haven’t been enough to prove himself ready for a championship-contending seat just yet. If he keeps improving, he could be an outside chance for the junior team at some point in 2025 or 2026, unless Sauber snaps him up.

Mick Schumacher: clearly slower than Magnussen and also crashed a lot. No chance.

So the discussion question is: can anyone actually replace Checo for 2025? Is there a driver who is available and would clearly do a better job than Checo racking up points?