RB boss Laurent Mekies shares the unusual thing Liam Lawson did in the garage at US Grand Prix

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Liam Lawson is back in Formula 1 action for RB at the US Grand Prix. Lawson has taken over from Daniel Ricciardo for the final six races of 2024, and potentially beyond.

Karun Chandhok was concerned about Lawson ahead of the race in Austin. He only had one hour-long practice session on Friday before his first qualifying, of sorts, in the VCARB 01.

US Grand Prix organisers have honoured Ricciardo with a ‘letters to Danny’ stand at the circuit, which highlights the popularity of Lawson’s predecessor. If he struggles, it won’t be long before legions of fans are suggesting that the Australian deserved to stay.

Lawson will start the race at the back of the grid after a series of power unit penalties. That reduces the pressure heading into Saturday’s qualifying session, but he will still be under constant evaluation.

Indeed, six race weekends is a small sample size for Red Bull engineers. They’re trying to establish whether he’s good enough to replace Sergio Perez as Max Verstappen’s teammate next year.

Lawson could oust Perez midway through 2025 if the team decide they need more information. They can also look back to his five-race stint in 2023 when Ricciardo broke his hand.

The moment Laurent Mekies realised Liam Lawson was ‘very keen’ at US Grand Prix

During the team principals’ press conference on Friday, RB’s Laurent Mekies commented on how Lawson was ‘settling in’. The New Zealander had no doubt grown frustrated after spending a year on the sidelines following Ricciardo’s return.

His eagerness was evident in the garage as he climbed into his cockpit a full 20 minutes before the start of FP1. Mekies was pleased to see him ‘on the right pace’ from the outset.

Lawson was keen to maximise his mileage given that he hadn’t driven at the Circuit of the Americas before. He would have completed some laps on the simulator, but there’s a limit to how useful that can be.

“He has been waiting for that moment for a very long time, so he was all smiling this morning, and I think he was sitting in the car 20 minutes before the session started,” Mekies said. “So he was certainly very keen.

“Look, he did all the sessions in a very smooth way. We had this very refreshing, typical day-one comments from drivers when they complained about too much grip.

“It normally doesn’t last very long, but he was on the right pace straight away, quite close to Yuki. It’s a difficult track, he has never driven here, so it’s the right way to put the first foot into the weekend.”

Why Liam Lawson has already had to apologise to RB

Lawson was disappointed after the Sprint qualifying session on Friday evening. Having reached SQ2, he initially set the 12th-fastest time while his teammate Yuki Tsunoda made it into the top 10 shoot-out.

But Lawson then lost that lap due to a track limits violation, dropping him to 15th. He still had a realistic shot at a point from P12, but it looks highly unlikely from three further places back.

Lawson apologised to RB over the radio on his in-lap. It was first blood to Tsunoda in a potential battle for Red Bull seat.

The benchmark for the two drivers differs. Tsunoda must beat Lawson every weekend to have a chance, while the 22-year-old could get the nod even with a narrow edge.