Official: Liam Lawson replaces Daniel Ricciardo at Racing Bulls
The New Zealander has just regained the starting position at Racing Bulls for the rest of the 2024 season. After replacing Ricciardo last year following the Australian's injury, Lawson is stepping in again but this time for the final 6 Grand Prix races before a potential full-time position in 2025.
It is now official: Liam Lawson will indeed be on the starting grid at the next Grand Prix with Racing Bulls. The news was confirmed just after the announcement of Daniel Ricciardo’s contract termination, putting an end to the many speculations surrounding the former Formula 2 driver and the discomfort generated after the Singapore Grand Prix where Daniel Ricciardo seemed to bid farewell to the media.
Helmut Marko recently revealed that the New Zealander would have a spot on the grid in 2025. It is therefore likely that this promotion for the last 6 Grand Prix of the 2024 season will allow Red Bull to make a decision regarding 2025.
This decision therefore also precipitates the departure of Daniel Ricciardo who had several deadlines in his contract to convince Red Bull, including one after the Singapore Grand Prix that he claimed not to have reached (editor’s note: to achieve at least one podium).
Liam Lawson to gain experience
After his accident in the Netherlands in 2023, Daniel Ricciardo had already given up his place to Liam Lawson for several Grand Prix races. The New Zealand driver had then shown some good performances against Yuki Tsunoda. This position with 9 races remaining (6 Grand Prix races + 3 Sprints) will allow the young driver without a seat currently to prepare for his 2025 season and will enable him to convince by getting closer to the performances of his Japanese teammate who is already assured of having a seat in 2025.
« I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Liam, » comments Laurent Mekies, the director of the VCARB team. « He already knows the team well. He drove for us last season and managed the difficult circumstances well, so it will be a natural transition. »
« It’s great to see young talents from the Red Bull family reach a new milestone. We are looking forward to focusing on the rest of the season together. »
Results not convincing enough for Ricciardo
« At the moment, I feel like it’s my last chance, so that’s how I see it. I will give everything I have, and the younger ones will have their chance and their time, but I don’t feel ready to give it to them. If my results are really bad, then too bad, it will happen. Personally, I don’t think I’m there yet. They will have this chance – but not yet. » However, pressure has once again risen around the Australian driver since the resumption of the season, with three consecutive races finishing outside the points, enough to annoy Marko, who criticized the performances of the former Red Bull driver.
« Daniel was put in the car and the idea was to bring him back to Red Bull Racing if he had been significantly faster than Yuki. But he also had his ups and downs. So far, he has not met the criteria to be a Red Bull driver. » At the same time, the Austrian has been spreading messages in favor of the native of Hastings in the press, even stating that he would have a seat in 2025, a statement that is now true. This decision demonstrates Red Bull’s new ambitions, which aim to make Racing Bulls its junior team, a kind of springboard to allow high-performing drivers at RB to then be recruited by the Austrian team, like triple world champion Max Verstappen in 2016.
A logical choice for Racing Bulls but a painful one for Isack Hadjar
This choice is also a fair reward for the talent that Liam Lawson possesses. The New Zealander had brilliantly replaced Ricciardo during five Grand Prix races last year after the latter injured his arm at Zandvoort during free practice while trying to avoid McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. In only his second Grand Prix race, he eliminated Verstappen in Q2 before scoring two points for ninth place the next day.
At the same time, this buries Isack Hadjar’s hopes of obtaining a seat next year, since, with this decision, Lawson will probably sign for next year too. The Frenchman, currently second in the Formula 2 championship, seems to be heading towards a similar role to that of Lawson this year and could participate in the Super Formula championship in Japan. A situation that also benefits Sergio Perez, the Mexican not meeting the expectations of the Milton Keynes team but who should still keep his seat.
