F1 icon names who should replace Sergio Perez & makes Hungary GP prediction

Formula One icon Johnny Herbert has urged Lando Norris to move to Red Bull should the opportunity arise.

There is much speculation over who will be driving alongside Max Verstappen for the 2025 season, with team principal Christian Horner recently stating that Sergio Perez will keep his seat for next season despite his struggling form.

But once his contract expires they will likely make a change, with McLaren’s Norris, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and AlphaTauri duo Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda the main contenders.

Ricciardo will be the favourite, with the popular Aussie set to return to the grid for this weekend’s Hungarian Grand Prix and it is no secret that the 34-year-old wants to drive for the team he left back in 2018.

But three-time race winner Herbert believes the young British talent should be a shoe-in for the drive, especially following his hugely impressive podium finish at the last round at Silverstone.

Speaking exclusively to Metro Sport via KingCasinoBonus, the former Benetton driver said: ‘If I was choosing there is only one man, and he is in an orange car at the mInute. That is Lando.

‘He has a long-term contract and I don’t know what that says or the details of it. But windows of opportunity come up rarely in this sport. When they do you have got to be the man on the doorstep and when that door opens you walk right through.

‘You don’t want to be on the doorstep, the door opens and you say, “Hang on I’ve just got to check a couple of things”.

‘If there is a get out clause in some shape or form, that would be the negotiation I would start playing with. Lando has impressed a lot of people and he has got a good reputation.

‘Suddenly the McLarens do well at Silverstone and they are back on the tip of people’s tongues. I hope Lando gets that chance. His contract is a big key to his future if the opportunity were to come at Red Bull.

‘There is another question. Would you really want to risk going up against Max Verstappen?

‘I remember years ago Gerhard Berger said to me when I did my time with Michael Schumacher that he would never have gone up against Michael. So there are certain drivers, who from a career perspective wouldn’t countenance it.’

As we reach the halfway point of the season, Red Bull have the chance to win a record-breaking 12th consecutive race but the Hungaroring is infamous for providing many shocking results.

And though Herbert can’t see a change at the front happening, he reckons they’ll be a surprise or two further down the grid, adding: ‘I think at the front end you’re looking at the Red Bull. Behind it has been up and down like a yoyo as to who comes out on top.

‘At the moment I’d probably throw it towards McLaren. Their performances in Canada and at Silverstone, where there are a lot of long straights as well as some technically tricky slow speed corners, were good.

‘You have got a lot of those in Hungary. It is a quite flowing circuit with lefts and rights.

‘As a surprise I will throw in is Alex Albon, who I’ve always been impressed by and Williams, because they have a slippery car which will benefit them.

‘When I saw him after Silverstone he said the one thing you can about his car is you can throw it around and it is fun to drive. That is perfect for Hungary. The car is quite forgiving, he is getting better and more confident and Williams seem to be improving.’

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