Liam Lawson has received a huge opportunity this season. He will be driving Daniel Ricciardo’s VCARB-01 for the remainder of this season. While this all seems like good news for him, he will have an uphill battle during his first race back in the car.
With the completion of the Singapore GP, the F1 community is now in the middle of a 3-week break before the United States Grand Prix on October 20th. This race will already be hectic for Lawson since it will be a Sprint Weekend. To add to his problems, the FIA will be handing a penalty to Lawson at Austin.
Liam Lawson to receive grid penalty at Austin
During his first race back, Lawson will start with a 10-place grid penalty for using an additional power unit. So far this year, VCARB has already used the maximum amount of power units allowed for each car. Although Lawson is entering as a new driver for the Championship, the car is still the same machine. So the FIA will have to impose a penalty if the team installs another power unit.
Helmut Marko revealed the change, explaining: “The first [race], I think, won’t be relevant because he has an engine penalty. Ten places in the sprint race, so that doesn’t exactly make life easier in Austin.”
🚨 | BREAKING: Liam Lawson signs for VCARB with immediate effect
The 22-year-old New Zealander who is also Red Bull’s reserve driver has signed a contract until the end of the season after impressing in both F1 testing and the junior series.#F1 #Formula1 pic.twitter.com/s4HqAWdA3s
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 26, 2024
Helmut Marko has confirmed that Lawson will start with a 10-place grid penalty in Austin’s sprint race which will take place on Saturday. So Red Bull is not going to evaluate Lawson’s performance this weekend.
Given there are still 5 more races left after Austin, Red Bull will be able to gather tons of data to evaluate Lawson’s performance compared to Ricciardo and Tsunoda. This evaluation could lead to a potential promotion for Lawson.
Why did VCARB not sign Lawson for next year?
Before it was made official, many thought that Lawson would be signing with VCARB until the end of 2025 at the very least. But the announcement confirmed that Lawson will be driving for VCARB until the end of this year only. But why?
This year, Sergio Perez has not been performing well for Red Bull. His poor performances have cost the team valuable points which has lost them the lead in the Constructors’ CHampionship. Hence, Red Bull could be preparing Lawson to replace Perez as soon as next year.
⚠️ | Sergio Perez on the fact that he is nearing the end of his career:
“I don’t see myself much longer in Formula 1.”
“For now I have two more years on my contract, and two years in F1 is a long time, but I know the end is getting closer and closer.”
“I want to finish my… pic.twitter.com/TmxzVmy8AM
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 26, 2024
This is probably the reason Red Bull did not want Lawson to commit to VCARB for the 2025 season. If Lawson is able to earn himself a promotion to Red Bull next year, VCARB will probably call up one of their junior drivers like Isack Hadjar to step in.
How well do you think Liam Lawson will perform this year with VCARB? Do you think he will be driving for Red Bull Racing next year? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
