Ever since Liam Lawson made his debut last year, he is been touted to get a full-time F1 seat in the near future. Being a Red Bull academy driver, the logical next step for the young New Zealander would be to land a seat at Visa Cash App RB (VCARB). Now, team advisor Helmut Marko has suggested that Daniel Ricciardo might get the axe to accommodate Lawson.
Ricciardo was drafted into AlphaTauri (now VCARB) last year as a mid-season replacement for Nyck de Vries, with the intention of testing his performances for a potential seat at Red Bull. At the 2023 Dutch GP, however, he suffered a freak accident and a broken wrist.
This allowed Lawson to make his debut for a handful of races as a temporary step-in for the injured Honey Badger. During his time with the team, Lawson impressed the entire paddock by scoring his first points at the Singapore GP, where he even knocked Max Verstappen out of Q2.
Marko has now revealed that with Sergio Perez signing a two-year extension with Red Bull, Ricciardo has failed to fulfill the reason why VCARB signed him in the first place. Moreover, since VCARB’s focus is on junior drivers, it is time for them to prioritize youth such as Lawson over the #3 driver. Marko explained,
“The shareholders have made it known that it is a junior team and we have to act accordingly. The goal was that he [Ricciardo] would be considered for Red Bull with exceptional performances. That seat now belongs to Perez, so that plan is no longer valid. We will have to put a young driver in there soon. That would be Liam Lawson”.
BREAKING: Liam Lawson to join RB in the future, Helmut Marko confirms
“The shareholders have made it known that it is a junior team and we have to act accordingly. The goal was that he [Ricciardo] would be considered for Red Bull with exceptional performances. That seat now… pic.twitter.com/7IHUFUqZQF
— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) June 26, 2024
The Austrian’s comments seem to contradict the words coming out of VCARB. Their boss, Laurent Mekies, has been very vocal about his support for Ricciardo. They want to see the Australian continue with the team, and have taken the onus upon themselves to provide him with a competitive car.
Daniel Ricciardo is one of the most marketable faces in the paddock currently. Therefore, it is no surprise that he has his own commercial appeal to the Red Bull group. Having said that, the team are also aware that Lawson could prove to be a future champion in the making.
Will Red Bull risk losing Liam Lawson for Daniel Ricciardo?
Lawson has made a compelling argument for being on the F1 grid sooner rather than later. Therefore, Red Bull run the risk of losing the New Zealander to a rival team if they do not make their minds up about giving him a full-time seat next year.
The 2025 driver’s market is still very fluid and dynamic. The likes of Alpine, Audi/Sauber, Williams, and Haas are all yet to finalize their driver line-ups for next year. These could all be potential candidates jostling for a piece of the action.
On the other hand, it looks as though VCARB have already made up their minds. The team have confirmed that Yuki Tsunoda will stay with them in 2025 as well. However, since the team have made no such announcement for Ricciardo, there is a huge possibility that they may consider parting ways with the 34-year-old.
