Liam Lawson, Looking Outside Red Bull and RB, Takes a Realistic Look at F1 Prospects

The world of Formula 1 is as cutthroat as any sport can be. There are thousands of professional racing drivers around the world, but only 20 are cut—the 20 best drivers in the world. If one does not perform, they are booted out in favor of a faster driver. Look at what happened with Nyck De Vries last year. After just half a season with AlphaTauri, the Dutchman was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo. Liam Lawson, who also came into the picture last year, is now looking for opportunities outside of the Red Bull family. 

Red Bull’s Junior Team spotted Liam Lawson’s talent and has been a major factor in the nurturing of the New Zealander racing driver. Lawson, who finished 3rd in the driver’s standings during his second season in Formula 2, caught the eye of one of the top-performing F1 teams. After Daniel Ricciardo suffered an injury at Zandvoort last year, Liam Lawson was put in the AlphaTauri seat to replace him.

Over the next few races, Lawson impressed everyone with his performance, which included beating his teammate Yuki Tsunoda on several occasions and also scoring points. These performances made many F1 pundits and fans question why exactly Liam Lawson isn’t given a seat on the RB team. Nonetheless, Ricciardo came back at the US GP and, since then, has continued as Tsunoda’s teammate. 

And despite being the reserve driver for Red Bull this year, it looks unlikely that Liam Lawson will get a seat with Red Bull next year. And Lawson has now come to suggest that he will look for other prospects if a Red Bull or RB seat isn’t possible. According to Formule1.nl, he said, “For me it is a dream to drive for Red Bull, I have been part of the Red Bull family for more than five years. If I had the say, I would drive for Red Bull or RB. But apart from that, it is always a dream to become a Formula 1 driver. And if that’s not possible with them, then go somewhere else. It seems clear to me that I will try that.”

However, with the kind of performances that Daniel Ricciardo is putting in, getting beaten by Tsunoda, there is a slight possibility that Liam Lawson can get the RB seat midway through this season if the Australian doesn’t improve. 

Helmut Marko was puzzled by Daniel Ricciardo’s lack of pace

Earlier this week, rumors flooded the paddock that Red Bull had given Daniel Ricciardo an ultimatum to improve his performance. However, Helmut Marko trashed the rumors and advised that no such thing had happened. But the Red Bull taskmaster did suggest he was left puzzled by Daniel Ricciardo’s pace in comparison to Yuki Tsunoda, as the Australian has been slower than his teammate. 

“We are puzzled,” said Helmut Marko. “He is generally slower than Yuki. Something isn’t right with him. That is surprising because the winter test went very well for him. But right now Yuki is clearly faster. For comparison, you should have a different driver. Because the question is: has Tsunoda become that good, or is Daniel that bad? After three races on three completely different circuits, there is still no objective answer.”

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Should Red Bull take the step and replace Daniel Ricciardo with Liam Lawson if the Australian isn’t able to improve his performance? It’ll be interesting to know. Stay tuned.