After the Singapore GP, VCARB announced that they would be replacing Daniel Ricciardo with Liam Lawson effective immediately. So with just 6 more races to go this season, Helmut Marko has given Lawson a clear set of objectives that he will have to complete. After this, Red Bull will determine his fate for the 2025 season.
When reports of Lawson replacing Ricciardo began, fans assumed that it would be a contract until the end of the 2025 season at least. However, VCARB has only confirmed the Kiwi for the rest of this season. So his fate completely relies on whether or not he satisfies Red Bull’s expectations.
Helmut Marko gives benchmark for Liam Lawson
With the Austin GP approaching fast, Helmut Marko has stated what Red Bull’s expectations are for Lawson.
“Liam Lawson will now be able to contest the last six rounds of the World Championship for the Racing Bulls team. We will evaluate how he compares to Yuki Tsunoda and then we will see what happens. He must deliver a performance worthy of Formula 1, as he has done in his previous GP appearances.”
Lawson’s performance will be directly compared to Yuki Tsunoda’s in these next 6 races. If Lawson is either not able to beat his teammate or match his performance, his future in F1 will be in doubt.
It is no secret that Red Bull are very critical of their drivers. We saw them replace Nyck de Vries after just 10 races in 2023. This year we saw Ricciardo exit after Singapore. So if Liam Lawson is not quick enough to even stay close to Tsunoda, he could lose his seat to other Red Bull junior drivers.
Does Lawson have a shot for the Red Bull seat?
Yes, Lawson definitely has a shot for the Red Bull seat for 2025.
From what has been said in the past few weeks, it seems that the next 6 races will be a shootout between Lawson and Tsunoda for the Red Bull seat next year. With Sergio Perez underperforming at Red Bull, there has been a lot of doubt about his future with the team. They already sacked one underperforming driver (Ricciardo), they may do the same with Checo as well.
🚨 | Liam Lawson is set for a 10-place grid penalty in his first F1 race with RB.
This penalty will apply for the Sprint Race in Austin due to an unscheduled engine swap.
Helmut Marko on the penalty: “The first [race], I think, won’t be relevant because he has an engine… pic.twitter.com/JfPCMOWMSB
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 27, 2024
So if either Lawson or Tsunoda is pushed up to the Red Bull seat, they will bring in another driver from their academy to fill the empty VCARB seat. This will either be Ayumu Iwasa or Isack Hadjar.
So Lawson has a very clear goal in these next 3 months. He just has to do what he did last year when he drove for AlphaTauri for 6 races.
Where do you think Liam Lawson will drive for the 2025 season? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
