With the recent announcements of the extension of contracts for Sergio Perez chez Red Bullas well as Yuki Tsunoda chez VCARBthe seats of the two teams owned by the Austrian sponsor are now almost all locked. The only uncertainty now remains the identity of the person who will be entrusted with the second steering wheel at VCARB alongside Tsunoda in 2025.
Having been with the team (then still called AlphaTauri) since the middle of last season, when he himself replaced a Nyck de Vries pushed towards the exit after a difficult first half-season, Daniel Ricciardo struggles to take the measure of VCARB 01.
Regularly dominated by his teammate Yuki Tsunoda, the Australian driver has only scored nine points this season, with a best result of 8th place in Canada, while his Japanese teammate has ten more points. For his part, Liam Lawsona Red Bull and VCARB reserve driver, impressed when he replaced the same Ricciardo, who had a wrist injury, at short notice last year at AlphaTauri for five Grands Prix.
Currently, rumors suggest that Ricciardo will be sidelined to make way for the promising New Zealander next year. But VCARB CEO Peter Bayer indicated ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix that the team will take the time necessary to make the right choice.
Liam Lawson with Peter Bayer and Helmut Marko.
Photo de: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images
“We are in no hurry to make a decision for next year,” he said. declared Bayer in Austria. “We confirmed Yuki, which was very important for us. We are now focusing on the car. And [nous allons] approach the summer break and chat quietly.”
While Daniel Ricciardo appears to be in the hot seat, Bayer has been keen to highlight the latter’s contribution when he joined AlphaTauri in the summer of 2023. Furthermore, not promoting Lawson would go against Red Bull’s policy of training young drivers, which, in addition to the latter, has many other talents knocking on the door of F1, such as the Frenchman Isaac Hadjar.
“Daniel certainly helped us a lot,” continue Bayer. “Last year, when he joined the team, he brought a whole new energy and spirit to the team, and he was a huge help in supporting Yuki. Yuki said very recently that ‘he continued to learn from Daniel.’
They are all Red Bull Racing drivers and every Red Bull driver knows there is always pressure and attention.
“It’s part of our job, and it’s also a mission of the shareholders, to develop the drivers. And that’s what we’re doing right now. Liam is part of the team, he’s our test driver. He’s in the simulator. As most of you know, he’ll be taking part in a [test d’une voiture de 2022 à Imola]. But the decision regarding the second seat will be made discreetly, and we are in no hurry.”
If Ricciardo were to be preferred to Liam Lawson for 2025, the latter would have the possibility of leaving the Red Bull fold to join another team. But places are now limited in Formula 1 for 2025 and, above all, we should not exclude the possibility that Lawson will still recover Ricciardo’s seat during the season, as the latter had done with De Vries in 2023.
“They are all Red Bull Racing drivers and every Red Bull driver knows there is always pressure and attention,” added Bayer. “Daniel is in the seat and it’s up to him to make the most of it. And then in Formula 1, things are always fluid…”
Comments collected by Filip Cleeren
