Liam Lawson can breathe a little easier, because Red Bull’s driver-focused F1 consultant Dr Helmut Marko has very good news for the New Zealander rookie.
“He will definitely be in one of our cars next year ,” the 81-year-old declared ahead of the Dutch GP to Kleine Zeitung newspaper.
And what is good news for Lawson, 22, appears to be bad news for the much older incumbent at Red Bull’s junior team RB – Daniel Ricciardo.
“We saw last year what Liam is capable of when he replaced me after I broke my hand,” said the Australian at Zandvoort. “He deserves a place on the Formula 1 grid.
“If that works out, I’ll be happy for him. It’s up to me to put in a good performance and secure a place for 2025. If I don’t, then so be it – that’s fine with me.”
Ricciardo insists that his only focus for the moment is to impress Red Bull with better performances, and if he manages that, “I’m sure they’ll find a place for me somewhere.”
It could even be at the top team Red Bull Racing, even though Sergio Perez said on Thursday that most of the recent uncertainty about his future was “pure speculation”.
The Mexican technically has a contract for both 2025 and 2026, but Marko isn’t willing to look that far ahead yet. “If Checo can consistently bring back his normal speed, we’ll be happy,” he said.
“But he always has these fluctuations somewhere, whether in qualifying or a certain part of the race. The consistency is not there, that’s the problem,” Marko added.
And if Perez doesn’t up his game?: “Let’s take a look at what happens now first.”
Yuki Tsunoda is already signed up for RB in 2025, and he has not been seriously linked with a step up to the major team – but Red Bull contracts are always flexible.
“I mean, there’s a lot of speculation,” the Japanese said at Zandvoort. “But the things I’ll do are the same and it’s not in my control anyway. So I’ll try my best and focus on what I can do.”
