RB has confirmed Liam Lawson will race for the crew for the rest of the 2024 Method 1 season instead of Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo’s future was the middle of hypothesis on the Singapore Grand Prix and the Australian ended the weekend admitting there was an opportunity he had raced for the ultimate time Method 1. A Pink Bull evaluation of its driver line-up has now resulted in Lawson (pictured at proper, above, with Ricciardo) being promoted again right into a race seat beginning with the subsequent race — the US Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas.
Lawson impressed crew administration throughout his five-race stint instead of the injured Ricciardo final yr. He completed ninth in Singapore final season to attain two factors whereas standing in for Ricciardo, however the Australian returned at COTA to see out the yr. He began this season making an attempt to earn himself one other likelihood at Pink Bull Racing, however regardless of contemplating a change, the senior crew opted to stay with Sergio Perez in the summertime break.
Ricciardo’s 2024 has seen him rating a greatest results of eighth place within the Canadian Grand Prix, though he completed a powerful fourth within the Dash in Miami as one among 4 point-scoring finishes. He has been outscored by 22 factors to 12 by teammate Yuki Tsunoda, who’s already confirmed at RB for subsequent season.
“Everybody right here at VCARB wish to thank Daniel for his arduous work throughout the final two seasons with us,” RB crew principal Laurent Mekies stated. “He has introduced loads of expertise and expertise to the crew with a improbable angle, which has helped everybody to develop and foster a decent crew spirit. Daniel has been a real gentleman each on and off the observe and by no means with out that smile. He will probably be missed, however will all the time maintain a particular place inside the Pink Bull household.
“I’d additionally prefer to take this chance to welcome Liam. He already is aware of the crew nicely. He drove for us final season, and coped nicely underneath troublesome circumstances, so it’ll be a pure transition. It’s nice to see younger expertise from inside the Pink Bull household make the subsequent step. We’re trying ahead to getting our heads down and specializing in the remainder of the season collectively.”
At this stage, RB has solely confirmed Lawson for the rest of this season, with the seat alongside Tsunoda in 2025 not but formally introduced. Regardless of the present of religion in August, questions stay over Perez’s long-term future at Pink Bull, after a run of 41 factors previously 12 races. Whereas the Pink Bull has grow to be a much less aggressive automobile, teammate Max Verstappen has scored 195 factors in the identical spell.
