The Red Bull offer Daniel Ricciardo rejected before Liam Lawson replaced him at RB

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It has officially been announced that Daniel Ricciardo will be replaced by Liam Lawson at Visa Cash App RB for the remainder of the 2024 season.

Months of speculation have led to this moment, with the Aussie coming under increasing pressure throughout the season to keep his place in F1.

Ricciardo was only 9-8 down to teammate Yuki Tsunoda in the races – both RBs retired in China – but the Japanese driver had outqualified the 35-year-old 12-6 and has managed 22 points to Ricciardo’s 12 in 18 races this season.

It looked as if Ricciardo would be stepping out of the cockpit for the final time at the Singapore Grand Prix, given his emotional interviews after the race. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner appears to have fought to keep the Aussie in the seat until at least the end of the season.

RB also faced pressure from their two main title sponsors, as Visa and Cash App were determined to keep Ricciardo in the team until the end of the 2024 campaign.

But the Austrian side of the business have made the decision to cut ties with Ricciardo with six races to go and offer Lawson an opportunity to show his worth before offering him a full-time drive in 2025.

Daniel Ricciardo’s chances of returning to Red Bull as a reserve driver are ‘slim to zero’

With his full-time F1 career looking to be all but over, it is unclear as to where Ricciardo will end up next.

It has been reported that Ricciardo has been offered an ambassador role at Red Bull for marketing purposes, which would not prevent him from joining another racing series if he wished.

Furthermore, writing on the F1 website, journalist Lawrence Barretto ‘understands’ that Ricciardo was offered a reserve driver role to stay with Red Bull.

The 35-year-old had previously been in the role back in 2023 after he was axed by McLaren at the end of the 2022 season. Being Red Bull’s reserve ended up being key to Ricciardo making a comeback with AlphaTauri – now RB – after he replaced the underperforming Nyck de Vries.

However, according to Barretto, the chances of the Aussie making a return for another stint as reserve are ‘slim to zero.’

Liam Lawson has a chance to prove himself before a full-time drive in 2025

As Ricciardo’s illustrious F1 career looks to have come to an end, another’s full-time assault is about to begin as Lawson will race the remaining six races at RB in 2024.

The Kiwi driver replaced Ricciardo for five races back in 2023 after the Aussie broke his wrist in a crash at Zandvoort. Lawson put in some impressive performances, including at Singapore where he scored his first F1 points with ninth.

For 2024, Lawson has been stuck on the sidelines as Red Bull’s test and reserve driver, waiting for that chance to get back behind the wheel of an F1 car.

Now that chance has been afforded to him, all eyes will be on the 22-year-old as he looks to secure a spot on the grid for the 2025 season.