Liam Lawson tested by Red Bull at Silverstone

Will Red Bull replace Sergio Perez with Liam Lawson? This question needs to be asked in light of the Mexican driver’s recent results and his form judged as “unsustainable” by Christian Horner. The Austrian team took advantage of this Thursday to have Lawson drive at Silverstone in order to evaluate his performance.

This test will be the last allowed filming day for Red Bull as part of the TCC (Testing of Current Cars) allowing the use of current cars outside of Grand Prix weekends. According to this regulation, each team has two days a year to run its current car on a circuit to collect promotional material, such as photos and videos. In addition, a limit of 200 kilometers of track time is allowed (equivalent to 33 laps of the British Grand Prix), while using the car in a known configuration without new parts allowed, and with ‘Academy’ tires specially provided by Pirelli.

A mandatory test that could shake up the future 2025 grid

Red Bull therefore made the decision to entrust its car to Liam Lawson, a decision not really insignificant when looking at the current context of the team, with a second driver renewed for two years but under strong pressure with the risk of losing his place on the grid. Christian Horner nonetheless sought to temper the situation, explaining that Liam’s aero test had already been planned several months ago.

Liam Lawson making his rounds in the RB20 during today’s filming day in Silverstone! 🌟pic.twitter.com/g1LDIT5O21

— RBR Daily (@RBR_Daily) July 11, 2024

Nevertheless, the performance of the New Zealander will be closely monitored, similar to what had happened with Daniel Ricciardo last year. The Australian had also conducted a test with Red Bull at Silverstone which proved successful, as a few weeks later, he replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri.

The Austrian team will particularly observe his pace on the different types of tires, as well as his adaptation behind the wheel, in a car he has never driven. By linking the data collected during this test and combining them with his performance last year when replacing Daniel Ricciardo, it will be able to get an idea of his top speed, which may guide its future decision considering that these tests are extremely limited and the team cannot evaluate his performance in any other way, as the New Zealander is not participating in any championship this year.

A difficult decision for Red Bull, which has many potential candidates available for the Red Bull seat with multiple scenarios being considered. Perez’s time at Red Bull may be running out.