The Red Bull deal that Christian Horner ‘took off’ Liam Lawson before replacing Daniel Ricciardo

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Liam Lawson has every reason to celebrate as he finally gets his chance to race in Formula 1.

The Kiwi driver has been drafted in to replace Daniel Ricciardo at Visa Cash App RB for the final six races of the 2024 season, as he eyes a full-time drive next year.

Lawson has been sat on the sidelines in 2024 as Red Bull’s reserve driver, eagerly waiting for an opportunity in F1 to open up for him.

After the Singapore Grand Prix, the 22-year-old will get that chance with RB starting in Austin, with it being understood that Ricciardo’s F1 career is now over.

It will be a brutal introduction for Lawson though, as he will be hit with a 10-place grid penalty for the United States Grand Prix after an engine change. In fact, his F1 career to date has been fairly turbulent thus far with Red Bull.

Christian Horner ‘took off’ AlphaTauri deal from Liam Lawson in favour of Daniel Ricciardo

Team principal Christian Horner is a known admirer of Ricciardo and had hoped the Aussie would stay until the end of the 2024 season. RB’s title sponsors Visa and Cash App were determined to keep Ricciardo on the grid, but the Austrian side of the business opted to bring in Lawson.

Lawson had previously stepped in to replace Ricciardo at AlphaTauri last season after the Aussie broke his wrist at Zandvoort. In the five races he competed in, the Kiwi driver put in some impressive performances, grabbing his first F1 points in Singapore with ninth.

While he did get his F1 debut, it could have come a lot sooner. Speaking on the Pit Talk Podcast, Mat Coch revealed that Lawson ‘had the deal’ to replace Nyck de Vries after his sacking from AlphaTauri, but was denied by Horner in favour of Ricciardo.

He said: “What’s curious is that [Helmut] Marko in all of this has won out. When you wind the clock back to, and I think this leads us nicely into Liam Lawson.

“When you wind the clock back to post the British Grand Prix last year when Daniel was dropped into that seat, Daniel usurped Liam into that seat.

“Liam had the deal and Daniel basically took it off him. Well, Daniel didn’t take it off him, it was taken off of him and given to Daniel, and that was done by Christian Horner.”

Could Liam Lawson replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull?

Lawson has a great opportunity to prove to Red Bull that he is capable of competing in F1 for a potential seat in 2025.

The 22-year-old could be viewed as a possible replacement for Sergio Perez at the main Red Bull team given the Mexican’s struggles this season.

Despite not finishing on the podium since China, in theory, Perez has a deal until at least 2026. But with him being under immense pressure to improve his fortunes, there is every chance that Lawson could find himself in the mix for the Red Bull seat.

There is also a chance that the Kiwi driver himself could struggle, with it not being said whether he will drive for RB in 2025. Helmut Marko could turn to Franco Colapinto as an alternative, with his incredible performances with Williams certainly being noted by the Red Bull chief.