Last week it became official that Daniel Ricciardo will no longer be a Formula 1 driver in 2024, and likely beyond that, as he is to be replaced by Liam Lawson at RB. Following a five race stint at predecessors AlphaTauri last year the young Kiwi will round up the season starting in Austin with the United States Grand Prix.
Being only announced to drive this year, his coming six race stint next to Yuki Tsunoda will determine his fate in Formula 1, as your team mate is the first hurdle to take. Talking to the F1 Nation Podcast, Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner discussed Lawson’s re-entry into the top flight of motorsports, and how he has to do compared to Tsunoda.
“It’s difficult to say. I mean, last year, Liam jumped in and he beat Yuki in Singapore and Japan, and was quick from the outset. And he’s a tough racer, you know, we know that. He’s very adaptable.
“And certainly the testing that he’s done for us in the Red Bull Racing car this year has been very encouraging.”
Tsunoda being the benchmark makes sense, according to Horner, as the Honda protégé has stepped up his game and can no longer be considered a rookie.
“We know that Yuki is a very, very fast driver,” Horner explained. “And, you know, he can definitely extract a lap. And, you know, as he’s mature, because he’s not a rookie anymore. He’s in, what, his fourth season of Grand Prix racing. [He’s] got a lot of experience under his belt now.”
“So taking him as the datum, we saw what Daniel, you know, where he compared to Yuki. It will just be very interesting to see how Liam performs over the last remaining six races.
The expectations for Austin will be a bit subdued, as Lawson is set to take an engine penalty and it is of course a sprint weekend, meaning that there is little preparation before the competitive sessions start.
“Well, Austin, he’ll be taking an engine penalty there anyway, so he’s got a bit of a soft landing, or soft re-entry” Horner said. “But of course, he’s going to be gauged against his teammates.
“He was very quick against them last year. I think Yuki stepped it up a gear again this year. So it’s just going to be fascinating to see how quickly he adapts, how quickly he gets on with it.”
