Liam Lawson has received another chance to prove himself to the Red Bull bosses after he failed his first audition. The New Zealander will receive this opportunity amid Sergio Perez’s continued struggles with Red Bull.
However, Lawson will not be the only driver who will receive such an audition. So will current V-CARB driver Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo and Lawson’s laptimes next week at the Imola filming day will be watched closely by Red Bull
It is understood that with Checo’s future being uncertain at Red Bull, the best performer in Imola may be given the nod for the seat.
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As per a report from Mirror, Red Bull will closely monitor the performances of both drivers. Other than these two drivers, Yuki Tsunoda and F2 racer Ayumu Iwasa will appear on the filming day. However, as per the report, Red Bull will only consider Lawson and Ricciardo for the second seat on the main team.
This seems to suggest that Red Bull considers Lawson higher up than Tsunoda in the pecking order despite the New Zealander never having had a full-time F1 seat. The only data that Red Bull has about Lawson’s potential is from the five races he drove for V-CARB last year when he stepped in for the injured Ricciardo.
In the five races he drove for V-CARB last year, Lawson was mighty impressive as he also scored two points for the team in Singapore. However, that was not enough for him to secure an F1 seat as Red Bull decided to retain Ricciardo and Tsunoda for V-CARB, and Perez and Max Verstappen for the main team.
Perez’s most recent performance could help him gain a further grace period
Perez is currently walking a tightrope as he has been massively underperforming Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has already registered seven victories this season, while Perez is yet to register his first win.
However, Perez’s fortunes could change after this weekend’s race in Belgium, where he is starting from the front row. The Mexican delivered a much-improved lap time during qualifying at Spa as he registered the third fastest lap and was less than a tenth shy of Charles Leclerc’s second-fastest lap time.
Both Perez and Leclerc will start on the front row due to Verstappen’s 10-place grid penalty which will drop the Dutchman from P1 to P11. This could be Perez’s best opportunity to prove his worth to Red Bull.
If Perez manages to win the race, it may not only help him gain a further grace period from Red Bull but may eventually help him retain his seat as well.
