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.

On paper, it was a fourth consecutive title for Max Verstappen

But the 2024 F1 season was not fought on paper...#F1 pic.twitter.com/BeGOTVstEK

— Formula 1 (@F1) December 13, 2024

"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."