After 18 races, the baton has finally passed over to Lawson.
The grid recently welcomed Liam Lawson, who has played a prominent role in one of F1’s worst-kept secrets. The New Zeelander driver is replacing Daniel Ricciardo for the rest of the 2024 season.
After months of speculation coupled with Ricciardo’s poor performances on track, Lawson has finally been given the green light to switch RB’s original driver line-up for this year.
This is the second mid-season driver swap of 2024 thus far after Williams replaced Logan Sargeant with Franco Colapinto.
Williams’ tactic of getting Colapinto in to substitute Sargaent has proven effective. His results in just three races have been nothing short of impressive. It is also on par with teammate Alex Albon. As a result, Williams have a boost in their constructors’ standings.
Although, the Argentinian’s arrival in F1 mid-season was reasonable. In the same year, he was completing his Formula 2 duties, hoping to prove his potential to climb up to the higher echelons of motorsport.
Williams, where he is also part of their junior academy, has been monitoring his performance in the feeder series. After one win and three podiums in his rookie season, Williams awarded him with an early promotion to Formula One, replacing the underperforming Sargaent.
As for Liam Lawson’s case, the former Red Bull reserve has not been behind the wheel that much this year. His last full-time role was in Super Formula where he finished second, that being only his first season – all the more reason to offer him a promotion to RB.
The decision to replace Daniel Ricciardo undoubtedly sparked mixed reactions, particularly over the timing of the driver strategy implementation. Why did it take more than half of the season to make the replacement?
The journey to reclaim the seat
In the sea of decisions, there are several priorities that VCARB wanted to focus on. These included Daniel Ricciardo getting a second chance in his F1 career and rejoining Red Bull to partner Verstappen, as well as picking up young talents from the Red Bull junior programme to enter F1. This also includes finding other ways to get up top of the midfield, aiming to escape the lower ranks of the Constructors’ standings.
But Red Bull being a senior and much more successful team, most of the discussions seem to be centred around a bigger goal: finding the next teammate for Max Verstappen in Red Bull.
Verstappen’s current teammate, Sergio Perez has been performing below-par. Despite the RB20 being much less of a successor compared to the outstanding RB19, Perez has struggled to extract the most out of the car. He has now slipped into eighth place in the Drivers’ standings. This is a below-average result for a top team such as Red Bull.
However, he was provided another chance in the form of a contract extension with the Austrian team until 2026.
Meanwhile, Ricciardo’s underwhelming stint in McLaren led him to exit the British team a year early before his contract ended. Red Bull higher-ups Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, however, had faith that the Australian would eventually return to his stellar form. Hence the signature to the RB (then named AlphaTauri) and replacing Nyck De Vries, also mid-season.
His achievements, including being one of the most vibrant personalities on the grid, convinced both the team and fans to highly welcome his comeback.
For an eight-time F1 race winner, this appeared to be the only path to reclaim the Red Bull seat that he had longed for.
Lower than expected
Fast forward to more than a season later, Ricciardo, unfortunately, failed to perform according to the expectations of not only the fans but most importantly, the team. There were also high hopes that the Australian would at least outperform his teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
Regardless, his results lower his chances of extending his career past the 2024 season.
Given Red Bull’s history of mid-season driver decisions, it is no surprise that the decision came mid-season. Some perceive it to be ‘ruthless’ and ‘brutal’. Others view the swap as ‘logical’ and the norm in Formula One’s driver strategies, and in particular, the norm as per Red Bull.
To add on, the chances of returning to the Red Bull realm, especially after a record of poor results in another team are usually slim. Ricciardo happened to be an exceptional case.
RB are sixth in the Constructors’ standings. Even though a small goal to accomplish, they look forward to maintaining their position throughout the season.
To do that requires going head-to-head with Haas, who are only three points behind. The finale is approaching. As a result, it makes sense that RB wanted a solid driver line-up that could deliver decent performances to potentially improve the team’s rankings.
Daniel Ricciardo had some flashes of brilliance here and there, but it wasn’t enough to retain his seat.
Future of the second RB seat
Liam Lawson’s first stint in Formula One was in 2023. This was when Daniel Ricciardo’s wrist injury forced him to take a step back from six rounds of the second half of the season.
The Kiwi managed to score two points during his debut in F1, showcasing his quick adaptability in any form of machinery. As was the case during his time in Formula 3, Formula 2 and the Super Formula series. That may reassure the decision to be put in Ricciardo’s place for this season.
The second calling, however, sets a different tone for the RB atmosphere.
Another fellow RB driver Yuki Tsunoda has extended his contract with the Faenza-based team for the next season. He has been contributing the majority of the team’s points in the standings, which gives him a more leading role.
Now that Ricciardo is no longer in the picture and the second seat is up for grabs, Liam Lawson may need a Herculean effort to prove himself a worthy candidate for a full-time role in RB for 2025, and possibly beyond.
He has to compete alongside other potentials, such as Isack Hadjar. Hadjar will now be taking over the role of Red Bull’s reserve driver. In his competitive results, despite facing occasional mechanical failures, Hadjar has been leading the F2 drivers’ standings.
Six races might be quite short for a proper evaluation of Lawson. But it will be a crucial period for Lawson to let his talent and commitment shine.
After a month of break, Liam Lawson will be joining the rest of the grid in Austin for the next round. Eyeing on the second RB seat, his future in Formula One is now in his hands.
