Although Red Bull decided to replace Daniel Ricciardo midseason this year with Liam Lawson to have long-term stability, the turmoil in their camp seems to still continue. Lawson, who was initially viewed as a potential replacement option for the underfiring Sergio Perez at Red Bull, could even be at risk of losing his F1 seat completely.
Recent reports have emerged that Red Bull are considering signing Franco Colapinto after the Argentine’s impressive cameo so far with Williams. If that is the case, Lawson may need to stop aiming for the Red Bull seat and may need to focus on just ensuring that he impresses the team bosses enough to have his future secure at RB.
Lawson currently sees himself in a straight fight with Perez for the Red Bull seat
At the time Red Bull brought in Lawson, several reports claimed that the Milton Keynes-based outfit signed him with the sole intention of evaluating his performances in the rest of the 2024 season and determining whether he is capable of racing alongside Max Verstappen in 2025.
With Perez failing to match Verstappen, several experts have claimed that the Mexican driver is a “dead man walking” and that it is only a matter of time before Red Bull replaces him.
Lawson overtaking Perez in his home race and showing him the middle finger pic.twitter.com/04fJHYG972
— Ferran West (@ferranwest) October 27, 2024
Considering, who can potentially replace Perez revolves around Lawson, what about Yuki Tsunoda? The Japanese driver is currently in his fourth season with RB (previously AlphaTauri) and has delivered some consistent performances throughout this year.
With him having consistently outscored eight-time Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo this year, even Tsunoda finds it puzzling that no one is expecting him to have a chance of getting that second Red Bull seat.
Now, Red Bull offering Tsunoda a test with the RB20 at the end of this year, which reportedly was pushed by Honda, may allow him a potential seat in the senior team, unlike what most of the reports have stated until recently.
What does this mean for Lawson?
If Red Bull are indeed now looking more favorably at Tsunoda, this is not good news for Lawson, who so far seems to have believed that he is the favorite to replace Perez at the Milton Keynes-based outfit. Lawson may need to ensure that he delivers consistent performances at RB to ensure that at least this seat of his is secure.
Reports have emerged that Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has already inquired about Colapinto. “Colapinto is an interesting driver,” he told German outlet AMuS. “He is surprisingly much better than was suggested in Formula 2. I would be a bad team boss if I didn’t find out whether he was available“.
Así esperaba Liam Lawson a Christian Horner tras ser citado en el hospitality de Red Bull.
Un día después, Lawson pide disculpas por la peineta a Checo Pérez durante la carrera. Lo dicho ayer: sea por lo que sea, esto no se hace desde el equipo B.pic.twitter.com/rKFc6dnQWQ
— Víctor Abad (@victorabadf1) October 28, 2024
And it is not just Horner who has spoken approvingly about Colapinto from the Red Bull camp. So has Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, who has often been responsible for recruiting the next big talent for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.
Irrespective of what this means for Colapinto’s future, it is fair to say that such talks are likely to only increase the pressure on Lawson.
And the New Zealander’s dream of racing for Red Bull is not as straightforward as most have believed so far. Therefore, instead of still aiming for a seat at Red Bull, he should first ensure that he delivers consistent results for RB and gain valuable experience there before he can think of moving to a top side.
