How Red Bull engineers felt about Liam Lawson test performance amid Sergio Perez rumours

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Liam Lawson had the opportunity to drive the Red Bull RB20 at Silverstone on Thursday. While it was technically a filming day, the timing was significant amid the uncertainty around Sergio Perez.

Lawson is a contender to replace Perez if he loses his Red Bull seat midway through the season. That could happen if he’s more than 100 points behind Max Verstappen after the Belgian GP, activating a break clause in his contract.

Despite winning seven Grands Prix with the Bulls between 2014 and 2018, Daniel Ricciardo isn’t thought to be in the running. His form at junior team RB has simply been too inconsistent.

Yuki Tsunoda has outshone the Australian so far this season, bagging nine more points and winning the qualifying duel 9-3. Still, Christian Horner doesn’t think Tsunoda would survive against Verstappen.

All of a sudden, it’s conceivable that Lawson could go from the F1 sidelines to one of the most desirable seats on the grid. He returned to a reserve role this term after a five-race stint last year in place of an injured Ricciardo.

Red Bull have been ‘hugely’ impressed with Lawson’s attitude and are determined to keep him in their ranks. He’s contractually entitled to leave if they don’t find him a seat on the 2025 grid.

Red Bull ‘slightly underwhelmed’ by Liam Lawson showing

Around a year ago, Ricciardo earned a route back into F1 with AlphaTauri by impressing in a midseason test at Silverstone. But while this outing was at the same venue, Lawson was restricted to 200km, or about 33 laps.

The New Zealander also had to use Pirelli’s ‘Academy’ tyres, while Ricciardo was able to drive with standard F1 rubber. That makes it difficult to draw direct comparisons with Perez.

According to Planet F1’s Thomas Maher, the team were nonetheless ‘slightly underwhelmed’ by Lawson’s lap times. They set him a benchmark based on Verstappen’s pace, and he fell around two-tenths short of meeting it.

If Red Bull are to make a driver change, it may be a greater reflection on the woes of Perez than any excitement around Lawson. The team’s engineers have told Horner that they could surrender the constructors’ title if the Mexican doesn’t improve.

Lawson could have rookie RB teammate with Daniel Ricciardo out

There are a few different ways things could play out. First, Red Bull could keep Perez until the end of the season and re-assess the situation in the winter, but that could be just what McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari want.

Second, they could axe the 34-year-old and bring in Lawson, then reshuffle their line-ups at the end of the campaign if he doesn’t deliver. It may be that he needs at least one complete season at RB before he’s ready for a full-time Red Bull seat.

Third, there’s a scenario in which Lawson performs well alongside Verstappen and keeps the drive long-term. That would be a brutal blow to Tsunoda given how well he’s done this year.

One journalist has predicted that Lawson will end up at RB alongside Isack Hadjar, the Red Bull academy starlet who’s currently leading the F2 championship. With Tsunoda promoted and Ricciardo shown the door, the team would start prioritising young talent once again.