Tag: Liam Lawson

Marko promises Lawson decision next month

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko says a decision on Liam Lawson’s future will be made public next month amid current stability within the organization’s driver program. Sergio Perez had been under pressure heading into the summer break and it appeared …

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko says a decision on Liam Lawson’s future will be made public next month amid current stability within the organization’s driver program.

Sergio Perez had been under pressure heading into the summer break and it appeared he could be replaced during the shutdown, but a meeting including Marko and team principal Christian Horner led to a decision to stick with Perez. That meant no promotion for Daniel Ricciardo or Yuki Tsunoda — moves that would have opened up a seat for Lawson (pictured above) — but Marko says the New Zealander’s future will be resolved soon.

“It’s a tough time for someone like Liam, especially as he jumped into the car under very, very difficult circumstances and did very well [last season],” Marko told ESPN. “We rate him high and he will get his chance. Just wait. September, you will have an answer.

“Daniel was put in the car and if he would have been significantly faster than Yuki there was an idea to bring him back to Red Bull Racing. But he also had this up and down [form]. So, so far, he didn’t fulfill the criteria to be a Red Bull Racing driver.”

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Marko also explained why Red Bull decided to continue with Perez despite a poor run of performances, saying it is down to the team to provide him with a car that he can produce more consistent form in, rather than blame the driver himself.

“We believe that we can turn it round and make it more stable for him. To be teammate to Max [Verstappen] is not the nicest thing in Formula 1. Checo has his merits — he’s won races.

“Our discussion was not just about drivers, it was regular discussions we had of, ‘What can we do to improve the situation?’ We have to try to make the car more easy to drive.

“The more difficult the car is to drive, the more the difference to Max comes out because he’s such an outstanding talent. If the rear steps out he won’t lift the throttle, he’s just, ‘Yeah, it’s a little bit nervous.’ Checo says it’s difficult or it’s undriveable.

“To be next to Max is a different story. So we said let’s try to make the car more easy to drive, get more balance — which is also something Max wants — and the best thing is to keep going with Checo. The main problem was this up and down. He had some very good results, very good performances, then the next day he was half a second or so off Max.”

Lawson hopes extra F1 outings strengthen his claim to a future seat

Liam Lawson says his extra outing at the Qatar Grand Prix gives him a further chance to prove to Red Bull he should be in a race seat in future, despite his 2024 role already being finalized. At the Japanese Grand Prix, AlphaTauri confirmed Yuki …

Liam Lawson says his extra outing at the Qatar Grand Prix gives him a further chance to prove to Red Bull he should be in a race seat in future, despite his 2024 role already being finalized.

At the Japanese Grand Prix, AlphaTauri confirmed Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo will be its driver line-up next year, with Lawson reverting to a reserve role for the team alongside the same duties at Red Bull. The New Zealander has impressed throughout his spell standing in for the injured Ricciardo so far, and with Ricciardo again missing Qatar despite a successful simulator session earlier this week, Lawson sees another opportunity to strengthen his future hopes.

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“In Japan, the news became public that I’m back to the role of reserve driver next year,” Lawson said. “Obviously, my goal is to be in Formula 1 full-time, so as much as it’s disappointing, it’s still my goal, and it’s now about trying to make sure that I can make that happen in the future. Right now, I’ve still got this opportunity to keep trying to show something, and I’ll try to make the most of it.

“For now, as long as this lasts, I’ll focus on it, and then once I step back from F1, it’ll be full focus on preparing for the final round of the Super Formula championship at Suzuka on the weekend of the Mexican Grand Prix. It’ll be very different adjusting back to the car, but it’s certainly been useful having driven so many laps at Suzuka throughout the Grand Prix weekend.”

The added challenge of this weekend’s race at Lusail is that its the first Sprint that Lawson will have tackled, and he admits he’s also not certain AlphaTauri will be as competitive as it was in Singapore and Japan.

“I’m not sure how we’ll get on there or how the upgrades will work,” he said. “I think it’s hard to say, because where we struggled in Japan was mainly in the high speed, in Sector 1. We still have more to learn about our new package, and I’m not so sure that Qatar is the type of circuit that will suit our car. 

“Learning takes time, and we’ve got more opportunities in Qatar to try and get the most out of it. However, it’s also a Sprint weekend, so at the same time, that makes it quite tricky, especially in my situation. I’ve never driven here, so going into the Sprint weekend will be extra tough.

“I drove the Qatar track in the simulator at the end of last week. It’s very fast, a very high-speed circuit and quite unique, and I’ve not seen many tracks like it, as there’s only one low-speed corner in the whole track. The rest is just fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh gear, so I think it’s going to be exciting to drive.

“With only one free practice session, we drivers will have to know where to improve because it’ll get faster at night when it’s much cooler, and we need to know exactly how to extract everything out of the car. I’m expecting it to be tougher than the races we’ve just done.”

Lawson set to remain for Qatar, Ricciardo targeting COTA comeback

Liam Lawson is set to retain his seat at AlphaTauri for this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, with Daniel Ricciardo targeting a return in Austin. Ricciardo has been absent since breaking a bone in his hand during a crash in practice at the Dutch Grand …

Liam Lawson is set to retain his seat at AlphaTauri for this weekend’s Qatar Grand Prix, with Daniel Ricciardo targeting a return in Austin.

Ricciardo has been absent since breaking a bone in his hand during a crash in practice at the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of August, requiring surgery on the complex fracture.

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While recovery has gone smoothly so far, the timeline provided to the Australian was always indicating a return in the United States with an outside chance of Qatar, and despite a positive simulator session earlier this week, RACER understands the decision has been made to focus on Austin.

While Ricciardo could have attempted a comeback this weekend, any unforeseen issues on Friday would have heavily disrupted the rest of the event for both Lawson and AlphaTauri as it’s a Sprint weekend, meaning the rookie would have had to go straight into qualifying with his first laps had he not participated in FP1.

To ensure Lawson gets a clean run at the weekend, Ricciardo will continue his recovery for a further two weeks, allowing the New Zealander clarity on the plans. Ricciardo also doesn’t need to rush a return having already been confirmed alongside Yuki Tsunoda for 2024, with Lawson reverting to a reserve role for both Red Bull and AlphaTauri.

Lawson has impressed during his stand-in spell this season, scoring two points in Singapore and finishing ahead of team-mate Tsunoda after a race-long battle last time out in Japan.

Lawson not distracted by news he won’t be an AlphaTauri racer in 2024

Liam Lawson said he isn’t focusing on disappointment following confirmation he will not race for AlphaTauri in 2024, saying his role in Red Bull’s driver development program has prepared him to be able to deliver in high-pressure situations. …

Liam Lawson said he isn’t focusing on disappointment following confirmation he will not race for AlphaTauri in 2024, saying his role in Red Bull’s driver development program has prepared him to be able to deliver in high-pressure situations.

AlphaTauri announced Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo as its driver lineup for next season ahead of qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday morning, with Lawson returning to a reserve role full-time once Ricciardo returns from injury.

Having been made aware of the decision last week, Lawson said it wasn’t a major challenge to prevent himself overdriving trying to prove Red Bull wrong based on the experience he’s gained in recent years.

“One of the positives about being a Red Bull driver is, for me having five years in this program, it’s a high-pressure program — we’re put under pressure from day one and I’m now used to that,” Lawson said. “I’m a Red Bull driver, all the Red Bull seats are filled and unfortunately for me that means for now I’ll be a reserve driver. Once this stint that I have is over then I can start looking at what options there are (for 2025), but right now it’s focused on these races.”

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Lawson again delivered a solid display when he nearly reached Q3 at Suzuka, missing out by just 0.043s and citing the way his tire sets were utilized as the potential deciding factor.

“To be honest, before quali we didn’t (think Q3 was possible). I think that’s why we were quite aggressive with the tire strategy — we obviously used the three sets in Q1 and had a strong car and then Q2 I only had one set,” he said.

“Looking back, obviously hindsight is a great thing… Yuki did a great job to put the car in Q3; I think we definitely had the potential now knowing that we could have done that. From the information we had I think we made the right decision from where we were from practice, but obviously to miss out by such a small margin, I would have loved another set of tires.”

AlphaTauri retains Tsunoda and Ricciardo for 2024, Lawson reserve

Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo will be AlphaTauri’s lineup in 2024, leaving no full-time race seat for Liam Lawson. The New Zealander has impressed as a stand-in for the injured Ricciardo since the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, but on Saturday …

Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo will be AlphaTauri’s lineup in 2024, leaving no full-time race seat for Liam Lawson.

The New Zealander has impressed as a stand-in for the injured Ricciardo since the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort, but on Saturday morning in Japan it was confirmed by AlphaTauri that Ricciardo will be in the seat in 2024, with Tsunoda also retained. It means a fourth consecutive season for the Japanese driver who has shown strong improvement over the past 12 months.

“I’m so happy to announce that I will be staying with Scuderia AlphaTauri for the 2024 Formula 1 season,” Tsunoda said. “I’m looking forward to continuing to fight and collaborate with the team and Daniel.

“Obviously I’ll push as much as possible for the rest of the season and beyond, to progress as a driver. I’m grateful for Red Bull and Honda, for continuing to support and believe in me, and very happy and thankful to continue the partnership.”

For Ricciardo it’s a show of faith after two encouraging performances prior to his Zandvoort crash, with the Australian currently targeting a return from a broken metacarpal at either the next race in Qatar or in Austin two weeks later.

“I’m stoked to be driving with Yuki again next year and continuing the journey with Scuderia AlphaTauri,” Ricciardo said. “Following the progress we have already made and the plans for the future, it’s an exciting time for the team. We are building and it is a great feeling. There is a lot of work to do, but we are heading in the right direction and there is a lot to look forward to. Bring on 2024!”

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Outgoing AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost believes the combination of Tsunoda and Ricciardo mixes experience with performance that provides the team with a formidable lineup.

“Next year, the technical regulations remain largely unchanged, and it was therefore logical to go for continuity in our driver lineup too,” Tost said. “I am very pleased with the development that Yuki has shown over the last two and a half years with our team, and with Daniel’s great race-winning experience we will have one of the most competitive driver pairings on the grid in 2024.

“Peter (Bayer, CEO) and Laurent (Mekies, new team principal) will have a great duo to start the new season in the right direction. As for Liam, who has impressed everyone in his races so far, he will definitely help the team in his development role as a third driver, and I’m sure he will have a future in Formula 1 soon.”

With Lawson missing out on a race seat despite scoring two points in Singapore on just his third start for the team, Bayer admits picking between the drivers was a good problem for Red Bull and AlphaTauri to have.

“We are in a privileged position, where we have access to multiple great talents from the Red Bull world,” Bayer said. “This is a credit to the work that Dr. Marko has been doing for many years. Both Daniel and Yuki have not just shown fantastic race craft but are also great global ambassadors for our team and our sport. Liam put himself in the spotlight of F1 in only three races and I am very happy that we can continue to prepare him for his future.”

Maiden points a ‘bonus’ for Lawson

Liam Lawson says points weren’t his priority despite the AlphaTauri replacement scoring on just his third start in the challenging Singapore grand prix. Daniel Ricciardo was present in Singapore to help in an engineering capacity as Lawson took on …

Liam Lawson says points weren’t his priority despite the AlphaTauri replacement scoring on just his third start in the challenging Singapore grand prix.

Daniel Ricciardo was present in Singapore to help in an engineering capacity as Lawson took on the tough street circuit while he continues to deputize for the injured Australian. Reaching Q3 for the first time — as the lead Red Bull driver — was a major achievement in itself but Lawson backed that up with ninth place after George Russell’s late crash, although he says the final result is not the only way to earn himself a full-time drive.

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“Maybe 20 laps to go, before Max (Verstappen) and the Red Bulls were coming back, at that point I thought we had a chance,” Lawson said. “Then I felt like it was slipping away again. I guess when Checo (Perez) and (Alex) Albon had their fight and Albon went back, that was when I felt a bit more comfortable that like we could at least score P10.

“Obviously it was a bonus… I mean not a bonus to see somebody crash out for George, but for us obviously it means we get an extra point.

“It’s a goal, but to be honest, I’m just trying to maximize every race, every session and finish as high as we can. So (on Sunday) that was points, which is great. We’ll try and do even more hopefully in the future for… if I get the chance to drive again.”

Lawson looked physically drained after what is the toughest fitness test on the calendar, and admits that was one area where he struggled, as well as executing his race start.

“It was tough. Obviously this place is extremely tough on the body, especially when you’re fighting the car a lot. It makes it that bit extra difficult, but happy to survive the race.

“For me, the start I need to get on top of, because it’s now two weekends in a row that I’ve botched the start, basically, and lost a couple of positions. So it’s just making our life more difficult. So that’s really the biggest loss of the race and that’s on my part.

“For the rest, I think we extracted everything out of the car. We didn’t quite have the race pace. To be honest, we felt going into the race it was going to be a little bit difficult, because we felt this on Friday as well. But we tried to correct it as much as we could. So, I think we maximized.”

AlphaTauri’s Liam Lawson could see rapid path to F1 seat

Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko seems to be quite the fan of the New Zealand driver.

New Zealand Formula 1 driver [autotag]Liam Lawson[/autotag] may be only temporarily filling in for driver Daniel Ricciardo, but he may get a full-time spot on the grid sooner rather than later.

The head of Red Bull’s driver development program, Helmut Marko, revealed in an interview with Servus TV that Lawson could be in a Formula 1 seat sooner than he may have envisioned due to his impressive performances both in Japanese Super Formula and in F1 filling in for Ricciardo, according to SoyMotor.

Here is what Marko said about Lawson:

“He will continue to drive Super Formula in Japan and he is second in the Championship there. The fight is very difficult, but the cars are faster than in Formula 2. With the races being so far away, he doesn’t have as much visibility, but he can win the title. Maybe he will get a seat in Formula 1 instead of continuing as a reserve driver, that could happen quickly.”

For jumping right in, Lawson has been doing well in Ricciardo’s stead. So far, he’s beaten teammate Yuki Tsunoda in both races he’s raced in (with the addendum that Tsunoda’s engine failed before the Italian GP could begin) and has almost scored a point in his two races, placing 13th in the Dutch GP and 11th in the Italian GP.

For him to get an F1 seat soon at Red Bull, though either Ricciardo or Tsunoda would have to be out at AlphaTauri. Ricciardo is out with a broken wrist he suffered in Dutch GP practice, so what happens when he returns could be an interesting development for the driver grid in 2024.

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Van Gisbergen’s mentorship helping Lawson adapt to F1

Liam Lawson says his friendship with Shane van Gisbergen has helped him be a more versatile driver, which is paying off as he tackles Formula 1 as a stand-in for Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo’s broken hand ruled him out of last weekend’s race at …

Liam Lawson says his friendship with Shane van Gisbergen has helped him be a more versatile driver, which is paying off as he tackles Formula 1 as a stand-in for Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo’s broken hand ruled him out of last weekend’s race at Zandvoort and the upcoming Italian Grand Prix at Monza, with Lawson confirmed as the Australian’s replacement until he has recovered. Having raced in DTM, Formula 2 and Super Formula over the past two years, Lawson says he’s learned how to adapt quickly to different machinery, something van Gisbergen — who looks set to transition from Supercars to NASCAR next year — has experience in.
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“Obviously, all very different,” Lawson said. “It’s not like DTM specifically helps Formula 1, or Formula 2 specifically helps. But basically, being able to adapt to different things, and doing it quite quickly… Zandvoort was something that was the most challenging for me ever; that situation.

“So I think for sure it helps having that variety of things I’ve driven. I have a close friend, New Zealand driver Shane van Gisbergen, who drives everything that’s different, whether it’s dirt, or tarmac, or cars or bikes, he does everything, and he’s extremely good at adapting to different things. So I think it helps.

“For sure a lot of the New Zealand drivers have been (helpful) to me and he’s somebody that I was lucky enough to meet quite young. But I think also because in New Zealand, it’s very difficult to make it to the top in any direction you go in motorsport. So Iwe all stay quite connected and speak with each other and that’s quite cool to have those relationships.”

Lawson said he’s also had support from Ricciardo and teammate Yuki Tsunoda as he prepares for his first full race weekend, when he expects Red Bull will start looking more at performance.

“We spoke after the announcements, he was still at the track and Daniel being the amazing guy he is, was extremely supportive and offered any help that he could give,” he said. “Obviously, something like this is not the way I would have chosen to come into Formula 1. It’s not something you want to see, especially to someone like Daniel, but you get one shot, and it’s come now.

“Anytime you get a shot… you really only get one shot at Formula 1. For me, that’s come right now. So, I understand for sure the importance of it, but it’s not like something that I’m I’m looking at trying to set up for next year. Right now the focus is on this weekend and how important it is. But that’s really as far as it goes.

“There’s not a clear target (from Red Bull), like a position or something like that from the weekend, just to continue to improve. But I’m sure before the weekend or after practice at least we’ll have more of an idea of where we sit sort of with everybody. And then maybe I have more of a clear target.”

Lawson hopes Zandvoort isn’t his only F1 chance after hectic 24 hours

Liam Lawson admits he is hoping he will have more chances to race in Formula 1 after qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix less than 24 hours after getting called up to replace Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo broke a bone in his hand in a crash during …

Liam Lawson admits he is hoping he will have more chances to race in Formula 1 after qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix less than 24 hours after getting called up to replace Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo broke a bone in his hand in a crash during FP2, with Lawson confirmed as his replacement once an x-ray had confirmed the injury on Friday evening. Faced with just a single practice session in heavy rain, Lawson qualified 20th on Saturday — 1.4s adrift of a Q2 spot — and he admits it made for a tough introduction.

“Hectic, massively hectic!” he told SpeedCity Broadcasting. “Obviously it’s not something you want and I feel for Daniel — I wish him a speedy recovery and I hope everything is fine — but for myself an opportunity like this comes once maybe in your life, so you have to take it in both hands. It’s been a challenging day but I’m excited for tomorrow. I know it’s going to be pretty tough but I’m excited.

“I didn’t sleep much — a lot to think about, obviously. We had a good idea that today was going to be wet — at least FP3 — but just a lot of emotions, a lot of things to go through. Knowing that I’d have one session to try and learn as much as I could, it’s been tough. I’m just excited to race, and I hope it’s not the only opportunity I get.”

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The weather forecast for Sunday remains mixed but there’s a chance the grand prix will be dry — which would mark Lawson’s first dry-weather laps in the 2023 AlphaTauri, and he acknowledges that will likely leave him unable to match the pace of others.

“It’s tough because you want to have a good race and I’ve now driven the car for a day, but it probably will be dry — I haven’t driven in the dry, I haven’t driven on these (tire) compounds. It’s not restarting, but it’s like 50% there.

“So the first part of the race is going to be extremely tough, I just hope that I can get a feel for it quickly. I know it’s going to be very tough to try and be somewhat competitive, but to just have a clean race I think is the target.”

BREAKING: Daniel Ricciardo breaks wrist in free practice, won’t race in Dutch GP

Red Bull academy driver Liam Lawson is set to take Ricciardo’s place for the weekend.

Daniel Ricciardo made his triumphant return to Formula 1 during the Hungarian Grand Prix, but after two races, he’s unfortunately back on the sidelines.

Ricciardo crashed his Scuderia AlphaTauri car during free practice on Friday for the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix and is confirmed to have broken his wrist during the impact. Ricciardo won’t race this weekend, and his participation for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza remains in doubt.

Red Bull junior Liam Lawson will step up to take Ricciardo’s place at the Dutch Grand Prix. Lawson is currently racing in Super Formula in Japan, where he’s currently second in that championship. He’s also raced in Formula 2, where his highest finish was third place in 2022.

Lawson is set to step into the car despite the fact that former AlphaTauri driver Nyck De Vries is at the Dutch GP. Red Bull’s decision to go with Lawson is perhaps an indicator of their desire to focus on younger developmental talent going forward.

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