Daniel Ricciardo already under pressure from Helmut Marko, Liam Lawson knocks on the door
Struggling since the beginning of the season, Daniel Ricciardo is being given an ultimatum by Red Bull, the parent company. If he does not perform in the next two races, he will be replaced by the New Zealander, Liam Lawson.
Daniel Ricciardo’s career is in danger. Indeed, the Australian, who, after being evicted from McLaren in 2022, returned to Formula 1 last year as a quick replacement for Nyck de Vries in the team formerly known as AlphaTauri. But we can say that the objectives are far from being achieved. Ricciardo has not yet managed to score a point in the world championship. Since the first race in Bahrain, it is Tsunoda who is taking the lead.
In Australia, his home race, it was a catastrophic race, Ricciardo starts 18th on the grid after his fastest lap was deleted for exceeding track limits during qualifying. It is worth noting that even this lap was far from matching his teammate Yuki Tsunoda’s time in Q1, the Japanese driver who is having a good start to the season. After the race, the Australian driver admitted that he had no idea how he could have gone even faster. He is six points behind the Japanese driver in the drivers’ standings.
According to the NZ Herald, Helmut Marko would have issued an ultimatum to Daniel Ricciardo. If he does not achieve good results in the upcoming races, namely Japan and China, the reserve driver of the Austrian team, Liam Lawson, will take his place as soon as the Miami race. It is known that Helmut Marko closely follows the New Zealander who competes in Super Formula for the Mugen team, alongside the reigning champion Tomoki Nojiri.
This would not be a first since Liam Lawson had already replaced Daniel Ricciardo in five Grand Prix races, after his injury during the Netherlands free practice in 2023. However, Ricciardo still has the support of Red Bull Racing team principal, Christian Horner, who believed in him since his debut in Formula 1 in 2011.
A long-term replacement?
According to the NZ Herald, Liam Lawson would be Red Bull’s best option to become Max Verstappen’s long-term teammate. He could be the perfect replacement for Mexican driver Sergio Perez, whose contract expires at the end of the season.
Liam Lawson must for now be content with a reserve driver role within the Austrian group, he is present in the paddock almost every weekend.
He had expressed his desire and determination to get a seat in the coming years: “I would love to be behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car, and we are all working for it to happen (…) but for now nothing is confirmed.”
It is definitely not what the person who won eight Formula 1 races and who once competed against a Max Verstappen expected.
