Karun Chandhok shares his ‘massive’ concern about Liam Lawson after he replaced Daniel Ricciardo

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Liam Lawson is back on the Formula 1 grid as he replaces Daniel Ricciardo at RB. Lawson will take over from the United States Grand Prix onwards, completing the last six races of 2024.

The 22-year-old made his F1 debut last year in the Netherlands after Ricciardo suffered an injury in practice. He would deputies at five Grands Prix in total before the Australian was ready to return.

Despite impressing Red Bull, he wasn’t offered a seat for the start of 2024 season. But he’s seemingly been on the verge of stepping into Ricciardo’s cockpit for the entire campaign.

Christian Horner and Helmut Marko have now greenlit the swap, giving them the chance to assess Lawson over the two remaining triple-headers. There are three plausible outcomes.

If he exceeds expectations, Lawson could race for Red Bull next year, replacing Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s teammate. If he simply meets them, then he’s almost certain to stay put alongside Yuki Tsunoda.

But Red Bull haven’t guaranteed him a seat for 2025, publicly at least. With Isack Hadjar battling for the F2 championship, he’ll be under pressure if he doesn’t perform.

Karun Chandhok warns of the challenge facing Liam Lawson after Daniel Ricciardo swap

Writing on X, Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok criticised Red Bull for their handling of Ricciardo’s exit. He felt they should have given him a ‘nice send-off’ at last weekend’s Singapore GP.

The ‘awkward’ atmosphere will affect newcomer Lawson, who’s replacing ‘one of the most popular drivers’ on the grid. As such, he may not be received with the usual warmth.

Chandhok also pointed out that the US GP is a Sprint weekend. That means he’ll only be able to complete one hour of practice at an unfamiliar circuit before the Friday evening qualifying session.

Red Bull have been told to set up a testing programme during the lengthy break before Austin. If not, they could be setting Lawson up to fail.

“Really don’t think Red Bull have made this easy for Liam or Daniel,” Chandhok wrote. “Could have had a nice send off in Singapore instead of weekend with awkward “maybe’s” for Daniel.

“For Liam, replacing one of the most popular drivers, in USA, straight into a Sprint weekend is a massive challenge! Hope they give him some testing between now and Austin to get dialled in – got to give the young drivers a proper chance or you’re setting them up for failure.”

Why Christian Horner is ‘not quite sure’ on Liam Lawson despite RB promotion

Jamie Chadwick thinks Lawson deserved a 2024 seat after an eye-catching run of races last year. He scored points in a car that finished down in eighth in the championship with just 25 points.

Christian Horner promised Lawson his time would come and he’s held true to his word. The next couple of months will likely dictate the course of his racing career.

Lawson impressed in the junior categories without establishing himself as a future F1 world champion. He finished fifth in F3, ninth then third in F2 and runner-up in Super Formula.

Horner admits he’s ‘not quite sure’ on Lawson amid the rise of Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli. The team principal wants to see if he’s at the same level as the duo, who are part of the Ferrari and Mercedes families respectively.