F1 News: Liam Lawson ‘will’ be on F1 grid ‘next year’ – Marko (Update)
(GMM) Liam Lawson “will” be on the Formula 1 grid next year, Red Bull’s F1 consultant Dr Helmut Marko insists.
Marko, 81, had already suggested in the days before the recent Austrian GP that Daniel Ricciardo will be moved aside at the junior team RB to make way for Lawson.
According to strong speculation, 22-year-old reserve driver Lawson’s contract with Red Bull guarantees him a full race cockpit by 2025 – or else he will be free to sign a contract elsewhere, such as at Audi-Sauber.
Red Bull Racing team boss Christian Horner and RB CEO Peter Bayer, however, were not ready to confirm the news at the Red Bull Ring last weekend.
“Daniel is in the seat and it’s down to him to make the most of that,” Horner said.
And Bayer added: “We do our job to develop young drivers, but the decision on the second seat will be taken quietly and we’re not in a hurry.”
Amid the internal power struggle that is clearly still taking place at Red Bull, it is believed Horner is keen to keep Ricciardo in his seat for 2025 – while Marko is championing the young New Zealander Lawson.
Marko has now told Bild newspaper when asked about Lawson: “We will offer him something. A cockpit for next year.”
Elaborating, the Austrian explained: “It is clear that the Racing Bulls are a junior team. That has been communicated internally and everyone has understood that.”
Meanwhile, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is hoping the Red Bull turmoil persists for so long that Max Verstappen ultimately decides to switch teams.
“At the beginning,” he told Kronen Zeitung newspaper, “I thought (Oliver) Mintzlaff was brought in to run that company with an iron fist.
“But the decisions that are being made there are clearly being made elsewhere. I believe they wanted this Horner story to be handled the way it probably should have been handled – but that did not happen.”
June 28, 2024
(GMM) Peter Bayer, CEO of Red Bull’s second Formula 1 team RB, says no decision has been taken about whether Daniel Ricciardo is staying on board for 2025.
The team has already confirmed Yuki Tsunoda, producing a dilemma – giving Liam Lawson his full-time F1 debut next year, or potentially losing him to a competitor.
Red Bull F1 advisor Dr Helmut Marko said this week that he’s under pressure to oust the underperforming Ricciardo.
“The shareholders have made it known that it is a junior team and we have to act accordingly,” he told Kleine Zeitung newspaper.
“We have to put a young driver in there soon. That would be Liam Lawson.”
When asked about Marko’s seemingly clear-cut response, 34-year-old Ricciardo insisted on Thursday that he has “no opinion” about what it means.
“There’s been no pressure, no ultimatums, but of course when you’re looking at performance then that’s up until the summer break,” said the Australian.
“I’ve been in the sport for a long time, so I know that if I get my ass kicked every weekend, at some point someone will say ‘Hey, mate, step up, or else’. But that hasn’t happened yet.”
Ricciardo thinks Marko’s comments are designed to give him “a bit of a boost” but he admitted that he has no real alternatives to the Red Bull family for 2025.
However, team CEO Bayer agreed with Marko’s statement that RB is repositioning itself as a ‘junior team’.
“The owners have actually stated this, but I don’t necessarily want to call it a junior team,” he told Kleine Zeitung newspaper.
“Our job is to develop young drivers, but we also have the job of being successful in terms of sport and business, and that cannot be achieved with young drivers alone. That’s why we believe that the mix of a young driver and an experienced driver is perfect.”
But that doesn’t mean Ricciardo is safe, Bayer admits.
“We have extended Yuki’s contract for the long term, which makes me extremely happy,” he said. “Now we have another decision to make for 2025. But we are not in a rush.
“It is a luxury that we have Liam Lawson as a reserve and simulator driver. At the same time, we want to give Daniel time to prove himself, and then we will make a decision.”