Liam Lawson is at a risk of missing out on an F1 seat in 2025, with RB having a sizeable decision to make regarding the young driver’s future.
Silly season started early in Formula 1 this year. Lewis Hamilton announced in February that he would move to Ferrari in 2025, creating a shock wave in the driver market.
What followed was a sudden hunt for seats, as over half of the grid had contracts expiring at the conclusion of 2024.
Several driver moves for 2025 have already been announced following Hamilton’s Ferrari announcement, for example, the Audi/Stake F1 signing of Nico Hulkenberg and Red Bull extending Sergio Perez’s contract.
The most recent announcement was the contract extension of Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver will continue to drive for RB for another year, keeping him at Red Bull’s sister team for a fifth season.
Secretly, his extension has big implications, as the team now has to make a choice between Daniel Ricciardo and Lawson. And that could be tricky…
Lawson’s situation is well known. The New Zealander is part of the Red Bull junior programme and was allowed to drive five F1 races last year when Ricciardo suffered a hand fracture at Zandvoort.
Lawson impressed, picking up points in the Singapore Grand Prix, making him an option for a full-time RB seat for this year. However, RB opted to keep Tsunoda for 2024 and offered Ricciardo a one-year deal.
