Lawson 'Absolutely' Ready To Replace Ricciardo, But Red Bull Is 'Pretty Cut-Throat'

Tuesday, 19 March 2024 at 12:15

Liam Lawson asserted in an interview ahead of the Australian Grand Prix that he is "absolutely" ready to replace Daniel Ricciardo if needed.

The 22-year-old Liam Lawson is a reserve driver at RB for the season 2024. He was also a reserve driver for the team during the previous season (when the team was called AlphaTauri), and out of nowhere, he got the opportunity to sit in the F1 car for five Grand Prix weekends.

During these five races, Lawson went toe-to-toe with Yuki Tsunoda and outperformed the Japanese driver, who was supposed to be much more experienced than him.

Nevertheless, he ended up not getting a seat in RB for 2024, so this year, he finds himself in the exact same spot that he was during the last.

Read also

RB Doing Their Best To Prepare Lawson For F1 Amid 'Frustrating' Situation

Lawson's only opportunity to get in the car at this moment is if one of the RB drivers can't drive or keeps delivering insufficient performances.

Daniel Ricciardo has been quite heavily criticized and doubted quite heavily by multiple pundits ahead of the third race of the season, and the pressure to perform is on him. Asked by Fox Sports whether he would be ready to replace the Honey Badger, Lawson responded:

"Absolutely. I think Daniel knows that the potential is there, but I'm sure he's probably expected to step it up."

"Obviously this year it's the first in a while where everything is exactly the same. It makes it very tough to get a seat when there's multiple guys. I feel like I'm ready but there's a lot of other guys there also."

Quite a few promising rookies are waiting for any chance they can get in F1. The list includes Jack Doohan, Theo Pourchaire, Felipe Drugovich, Oliver Bearman, Frederik Vesti, and many more.

Lawson would love to get a chance in the Red Bull family team - RB, but he hinted he is would to go to anyone who is willing to give him a shot.

"Ultimately, my goal is to get back in that seat as soon as possible. Red Bull is pretty cut-throat. I would love to drive for them, but ultimately I want to be in F1 regardless."