Helmut Marko has stated Max Verstappen remains Red Bull's title focus, with no other driver fitting their "environment" despite interest from Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda.
Verstappen has made Red Bull Formula 1 history in F1 2024 by securing his fourth World Championship on the trot, matching the achievement of Sebastian Vettel who pulled off four in a row with the team between 2010-13.
But, once Verstappen bids to make it five, Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko expects their star driver will face even sterner competition.
After a dominant display which had become typical of Red Bull in the F1 ground effect era at the start of 2024, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes also joined the race-winning scene with McLaren's Lando Norris emerging as a title threat to Verstappen. The Dutchman saw off said threat, but Red Bull's hopes of retaining the Constructors' Championship are hanging by a thread in Qatar.
Contributing to that has been the imbalance between Verstappen and team-mate Sergio Perez, Verstappen contributing 403 points to Perez's 152, with Red Bull set to decide post-season whether Perez continues for F1 2025.
But, while the likes of Williams driver Franco Colapinto and VCARB's Liam Lawson are being linked with Perez's seat, if they get the nod, they should not plan on challenging for the Drivers' title.
"Next year it's all even closer together, I expect," Marko told De Telegraaf in his early F1 2025 prediction. "That's what you get when the regulations run out.
"But I do think at Ferrari [Lewis] Hamilton and [Charles] Leclerc will take points off each other, and at McLaren Norris and [Oscar] Piastri as well. At Mercedes, it remains to be seen how stable they are.
"And Red Bull? With us, it's only about Max. There is no other driver who fits into our environment, who would also become champion."
Perez has remained adamant that he has a Red Bull contract for F1 2025, so was quizzed on whether that is Red Bull-exclusive or could involve a VCARB demotion, and whether he can look to dig his heels in and hold the team to that deal.
"I don't speak. I've been 14 years in the sport and I don't speak about my contracts publicly," was his clear response to the media, including PlanetF1.com, in Qatar.
"So I will not comment on that. I know exactly where I am and I will not speak about it publicly."
