Liam Lawson RB ‘intel’ that hasn’t been shared publicly set to impact Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 future

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The 2023 Singapore Grand Prix was arguably the crowning moment in a very short Formula 1 career for Liam Lawson.

Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand during practice in Zandvoort trying to avoid his countryman Oscar Piastri.

It meant Liam Lawson was chucked in at the deep end at one of the toughest tracks to learn and performed admirably.

Lawson matched his temporary teammate Yuki Tsunoda at each of the five races he took part in but the Singapore Grand Prix was his best performance.

The young Kiwi knocked Max Verstappen out of qualifying before securing two points for the team.

Lawson was also told that weekend he wouldn’t be handed a full-time race seat for 2024, but journalist Mat Coch, speaking on the Pit Talk Podcast, has provided more information about his immediate future.

RB are one of only two teams on the grid yet to confirm their full driver line-up for next season although Tsunoda has already signed a contract extension.

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Lawson is up against Ricciardo – and possibly F2 title challenger Isack Hadjar – for the remaining seat although Sergio Perez’s long-term Red Bull future is far from certain.

The young Kiwi appears to be in a good spot though and Coch believes that whilst it’s not been announced in public yet, Lawson will be RB’s second driver in 2025.

Liam Lawson expected to race for RB alongside Yuki Tsunoda in 2025

Asked about the situation within the RB team, Coch said: “Yeah, big-time news coming for Liam Lawson one suspects that he’ll probably be in that seat for 2025 at RB, which raises some interesting and awkward questions for Daniel.

“By my intel, the decision has been made it just hasn’t been communicated publicly at this point.

“So yeah, it’ll be an interesting one to read the body language in Singapore this weekend.”

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Colleague Michael Lamonato added: “Yes, and Daniel has been told that he’ll be in the car for at least until the end of the year, so we shouldn’t get too excited unless he really blows it. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

What ‘high level’ RB sources are saying about Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 future

Ricciardo hasn’t had the easiest past few years in Formula 1 after being arguably the only teammate to truly match Max Verstappen at Red Bull.

His move to Renault was a success but making the switch to McLaren alongside Lando Norris didn’t go as planned and the team can now justify their decision to drop him for Oscar Piastri, given his recent performances.

Red Bull offered Ricciardo a lifeline last year when he replaced Nyck de Vries, but he’s never managed to get the upper hand over Tsunoda during their time racing together.

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Some high-level sources at RB are keen for Ricciardo to see out the rest of the season, given his relationship with key sponsors.

However, Ricciardo’s commercial value isn’t enough to justify his place within the team meaning it’s only right that Lawson gets his chance to impress next year.

Ricciardo could still replace Perez if the Mexican’s results don’t reach the required level over the past seven races.

Perez did brilliantly in Baku until his collision with Carlos Sainz, and if he keeps those levels up then Red Bull will find it very difficult to justify letting him go.