Liam Lawson will be replacing Daniel Ricciardo at RB for the remainder of the season. The Aussie, who used #3 on his car, has left the sport, some say for good. This means that his number could have been up for grabs, but Lawson will go for something else.
Lawson will sport the number 30 on his VCARB01 for the remaining six races of the year. Last season, when Ricciardo broke his hand and Lawson stepped into his car for five races, he used the number 40. It seems as though the New Zealander has opted for something different this campaign.
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Veteran F1 photographer Kym Illman confirmed the same on an Instagram post.
Whether this would be Lawson‘s permanent number or not, remains unknown. After his RB move became official, he revealed that his contract would last for just six races, after which Red Bull — RB’s parent team — would take a call on his future.
As such, Lawson, in his #30 car, would be looking to impress from the get-go. Unfortunately, that could prove to be very difficult for the 22-year-old.
Lawson’s hopes of a strong US GP suffered a huge blow
Red Bull’s chief advisor Helmut Marko confirmed earlier this month that Lawson’s VCARB01 would take new engine components ahead of the race in Austin. Since the car was used by Ricciardo before and the Perth-born driver had used up the allocated components, Lawson would be forced to take a 10-place grid penalty.
However, Lawson does not have to worry about the Red Bull top brass putting pressure on him. Marko suggested that they would judge Lawson properly from the Mexico City GP onwards, when he will have a clean slate and no penalties to deal with.
As for the Kiwi’s long-term future, there are reports about Red Bull wanting to evaluate him for a potential Red Bull promotion in 2025. Time will tell if Lawson can impress so much in the remaining six races to earn that shot.
