Red Bull could replace Sergio Perez with ‘spectacular’ driver instead of Daniel Ricciardo

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Sergio Perez is at risk of losing his Red Bull seat midway through the 2024 season. In a remarkable turn of events, he could be a matter of races away from the sack despite signing a new contract.

Christian Horner and co. have seemingly grown tired of waiting for an improvement in his form. He’s been struggling ever since the Miami Grand Prix at the start of May.

In the five races since, he’s only reached Q3 twice, and even then he’s qualified no higher than eighth. Either side of back-to-back DNFs in Monaco and Canada, he hasn’t been able to finish in the top six either.

On Saturday, Perez failed to make it out of Q1 in British Grand Prix qualifying. Horner was seen shaking his head on the Red Bull pit-wall.

This run has been so poor that it may activate an escape clause in the new two-year deal he signed in June. Helmut Marko says the team will make a decision when they reach the summer break.

The natural question is who would replace him. Initial reports have put forward the team’s former driver Daniel Ricciardo, currently at RB, despite the Australian’s inconsistent displays.

Liam Lawson could get Red Bull chance if Sergio Perez loses seat

In what may be seen as an even bigger surprise, Red Bull could consider drafting in reserve driver Liam Lawson. That’s according to Motorsport.com, who reveal that he’ll take part in a filming day in the RB20 at Silverstone this week.

Teams are allowed two filming days over the course of a season, ostensibly for marketing purposes. In reality, they can use this as a 200km audition for the 22-year-old.

If Red Bull decide that they need to make a change, there’s a ‘possibility’ that they could turn to the New Zealander. There is ‘little belief’ that Ricciardo would be a good choice, particularly given that his future at RB was uncertain before this weekend.

In addition to the de facto test session, the Bulls will be able to make their decision based on five Grands Prix last year. Lawson stepped into Ricciardo’s cockpit when the eight-time race-winner broke his wrist at the end of the summer.

‘Spectacular’ Lawson also a target for rival F1 team

Red Bull arguably have little to lose by promoting Lawson. Even if he initially struggles in a similar fashion to Perez, the team would be developing one of their young drivers rather than a 34-year-old external hire.

While it’s borderline unthinkable that he could challenge Max Verstappen at this stage of his career, Perez has effectively lowered the benchmark. David Croft has called Lawson a ‘spectacular’ prospect, and that seems to reflect Red Bull’s view more generally.

Come the end of the season, they could either retain him alongside Verstappen if he impressed, slot him into a full-time gig at RB, or, if things don’t go as envisaged, part ways. They know that Lawson has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave if they don’t provide a 2025 seat, and this would ensure they don’t waste his talents.

He’s been attracting interest from Audi, alongside the 2023 F2 champion Theo Pourchaire. The longer he’s kept waiting, the more tempted he’ll be to pursue the move.