Why Liam Lawson’s likely RB promotion could be bad news for rival’s 2025 F1 seat

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Although nothing official has been confirmed yet, it appears as though Liam Lawson will once again be a Formula 1 driver at the United States Grand Prix.

Liam Lawson has had to be patient this year but his cameo for AlphaTauri last season – RB’s predecessors on the grid – has given him the perfect platform to begin his F1 career.

The Singapore Grand Prix was run in bizarre circumstances for the RB with Daniel Ricciardo’s future hanging over the team.

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Ricciardo was fielding questions on Thursday that to begin with felt speculative but his answers suddenly didn’t fill anyone with confidence that his short-term future in Formula 1 was secure.

At the end of the race, Ricciardo was very emotional and took an age to get out of his car, savouring what could be his final moments in the VCARB 01.

Martin Brundle believes Lawson will replace Ricciardo at the United States Grand Prix and no doubt he’ll have one eye on the vacant RB seat for 2025.

However, journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm was speaking on The Race Podcast and believes Lawson could be destined for something greater if things go well between now and the end of the current campaign.

Red Bull are in a very awkward situation with their strongest young drivers not quite ready to step up to F1 aside from Lawson.

READ MORE: Who is Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Unfortunately, Sergio Perez is also underperforming in the senior Red Bull team and his poor performances this year are likely to prevent the team from winning the Constructors’ Championship.

Red Bull can drop Perez this winter due to performance clauses in his contract and Mitchell-Malm believes Lawson’s time at RB this season could be used as an audition to step straight up into the Mexican’s seat next year.

Liam Lawson’s RB promotion an audition for Sergio Perez’s Red Bull seat in 2025

Mitchell-Malm spoke about the situation at RB and its impact on Red Bull and said: “His [Ricciardo’s] Grand Prix was absolutely fine and if this car is good enough to score points between now and the end of the season, I think Ricciardo’s got almost as much chance of scoring points as Tsunoda.

“So, it’s not like he is not aiding what that team needs to achieve, but because he’s not the Red Bull Racing future anymore and I’ve got a suspicion that they want to try Lawson for the last few races, not as a head start for his RB drive next year.

“I think they want to evaluate him to maybe replace Perez next year.

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Sergio Perez’s life outside F1 from net worth to nickname

“Ricciardo went into this weekend insisting that while he knew that he’d have a decision on 2025 after this race during this big break that we’ve got between now and Austin, he was adamant that there was nothing that, as far as he was aware, there was nothing coming about his immediate future.

“He wouldn’t bet his house on getting to Abu Dhabi, but he was not talking on Thursday like a driver who expected for this to be his last race.

“By Sunday he was and I think that’s because he picked up on the speculation, picked up on the narrative and realised actually I’m being done over here.”

Karun Chandhok sends RB message ahead of potential Liam Lawson promotion in Austin

RB now have an extended break before the next race that gives them plenty of time to make a decision.

However, even if an announcement isn’t imminent, they have weeks to get Lawson up to speed.

Karun Chandhok has told RB what they must do with Lawson before the United States Grand Prix.

He impressed during his five-race stint with AlphaTauri last year but that wasn’t enough to earn a full-time seat.

Lawson has one more race to prove his worth in 2024, and it could end up earning him a seat in a race-winning car.