Just a few months ago, Daniel Ricciardo was tipped to be the man to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull and revive his F1 car. Now, reports point towards him getting replaced by Liam Lawson mid-season, the same way he took Nyck de Vries’ seat in 2023.
De Vries’ F1 run was so underwhelming to the Red Bull bosses, that they sacked him just 10 races into the season. Ricciardo was waiting on the sidelines and got a chance to compete in the sport again, for AlphaTauri (now V-CARB). Red Bull (and their sister team V-CARB) tend to change drivers midway into a campaign if they aren’t performing well. Now that Ricciardo is underperforming, it is the Aussie who is under pressure of losing his seat.
According to the NZ Herald, the Perth-born driver may lose his seat if he doesn’t improve his performance in the coming round. The driver who will replace him in that case is Liam Lawson.
Lawson has been patiently waiting as Red Bull and V-CARB’s reserve driver since his heroic shift as Ricciardo’s substitute in 2023. Many thought Red Bull would give him the heads up this year itself, but the sister team’s seats went to Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda instead.
Yuki Tsunoda closer to safety than Daniel Ricciardo
In his home race last Sunday, Daniel Ricciardo finished P12. Yuki Tsunoda meanwhile, drove incredibly well to muster up a P8 finish, which became P7 after Fernando Alonso’s penalty. In the eyes of Red Bull chief Helmut Marko, Tsunoda is now a “mature driver“.
Both Tsunoda and Ricciardo’s contracts expire at the end of the 2024 season. Heading into the campaign, they were both fighting for a Red Bull seat, but as things stand, Tsunoda is closer to it. Ricciardo may be in danger of losing his place in F1 altogether, for the second time in just over two years.
Lawson’s entry into F1, meanwhile, will be a welcome sight for many. He outperformed Tsunoda during his five-race stint for AlphaTauri in 2023 and is a talent to watch out for in the future. Ricciardo, however, will be hoping to avoid the embarrassment of having to vacate his V-CARB seat to the young Kiwi driver.
