Let's put talk of Mercedes' interest in Max Verstappen - which has left Christian Horner fed up - to one side for a moment. Assuming Verstappen stays put, Red Bull has a five-drivers-for-three-seats conundrum to solve ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
We know that's the case thanks to revelations made in the lead up to the Chinese Grand Prix, as Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko acknowledged that the team is talking to Carlos Sainz - and that reserve driver and star 2023 F1 stand-in Liam Lawson has the promise of a drive for next year.
Throw in Verstappen's incumbent team-mate Sergio Perez stringing together a convincing start to the current campaign - one that's left him as the senior team's "best option for 2025" - and it's one sticky situation.
So why is Sainz in the picture if Perez is hitting his marks? What about the self-imposed deadline Red Bull has on its Lawson option? And, perhaps most significantly, where does all of this leave Daniel Ricciardo?
