Kiwi Formula One driver Liam Lawson has copped the fury of Daniel Ricciardo fans on social media after replacing the veteran driver for the remainder of the season.
The 22-year-old has been locked in to drive for Racing Bulls, the subsidiary team of Red Bull, at the expense of the Australian for the final six races of the season, after which he’s expected to secure the spot for 2025.
Ricciardo is a popular figure among Formula One fans, with the eight-time grand prix winner’s profile growing only bigger after appearing in Netflix’s Drive to Survive series. He made his Formula One debut in 2011 and has notched up 257 race starts, but currently sits 14th in the Drivers Championship standings with only 12 points this year.
Ricciardo fans took out his demotion from Racing Bulls on his replacement Lawson.
The abuse towards Lawson in some of the replies is just ridiculous. He did a great job in his five outings last year, and it’s not the driver’s decision about who they replace or how it’s announced #F1 https://t.co/VLRTH43gar
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) September 26, 2024
Listen, this isnt Liams fault at all. No reason to throw shade at him. Please.
— es ⁴ 🏎️ (@letssgolando) September 26, 2024
Lawson recently revealed it’s been the plan for a “long time” to move into the seat, which was confirmed two weeks ago.
“I get one shot at F1. It’s come now. I need to take that opportunity with both hands,” Lawson told Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB.
“I need to perform. Do a similar job to what I did last year,” he added. “Basically [I’ve] got until the end of the season. I’ll find out more as the season goes on. At this stage, it’s the six races.”
The move means Lawson will step into the Racing Bulls cockpit for Formula One’s next Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on October 21 (NZT). He becomes the first New Zealander to secure a fulltime seat in Formula One since Brendon Hartley in 2018.
“Daniel has always been so good to me. I’ve never felt in competition with him,” Lawson added on the Mike Hosking Breakfast.
Ricciardo, who has driven for HRT, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Renault, McLaren and RB during his career, said it has “been a journey”.
“I’ve loved this sport my whole life,” Ricciardo said on Instagram. “It’s wild and wonderful and been a journey. To the teams and individuals that have played their part, thank you. To the fans who love the sport sometimes more than me haha thank you.
“It’ll always have its highs and lows but it’s been fun and truth be told I wouldn’t change it. Until the next adventure.”
Jumping behind the wheel for the remainder of the 2024 Formula One Season 💪@LiamLawson30 will be pairing up with @YukiTsunoda07 as we fight for points in the last six races.#F1 #VCARB
— Visa Cash App RB F1 Team (@visacashapprb) September 26, 2024
Over the remaining six races of the season, Lawson will be evaluated against teammate Yuki Tsunoda’s performance before Red Bull make a decision around the make-up of their teams for the 2025 season. As it stands, Tsunoda has another year on his contract at Racing Bulls, while world champion Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez are locked in to drive for Red Bull’s senior team. But a strong end to the year by the Kiwi could change things.
Red Bull had until September 15 to secure the Kiwi for 2025 and beyond, and the Herald understands pressure was applied from the team’s shareholders to see Racing Bulls move back to its roots of being a junior team to develop talent to progress into the senior ranks.
Thank you Daniel 💙
— Visa Cash App RB F1 Team (@visacashapprb) September 26, 2024
⁰Laurent Mekies on Daniel: “He has brought a lot of experience and talent to the Team with a fantastic attitude, which has helped everyone to develop and foster a tight team spirit.”#F1 #VCARB pic.twitter.com/cqKrbFAehU
Overseas media had reported a separate clause that would guarantee Lawson at least five races in the 2024 season. However, Lawson’s management has confirmed to the Herald those reports are false.
Lawson’s elevation comes after being forced to be patient for the majority of 2024. He impressed in a brief five-race stint with the then AlphaTauri in 2023, and was then overlooked for a place with Red Bull’s junior side.
Despite outperforming Tsunoda in four races, Lawson has been consigned to the role of reserve driver for both of its teams this season, after contracts to finalise the 2024 Racing Bulls line-up were signed before the Kiwi was able to drive for the team.
However, Lawson subsequently re-signed with Red Bull on a new contract that left the organisation having to find him a seat for next season before the deadline of September 15.
Lawson’s confirmation coming after the Singapore Grand Prix is just reward for the Kiwi, who found out he’d lost out on a 2024 seat at the same venue 12 months earlier.
The Herald understands more than one team were interested in acquiring Lawson, should Red Bull not have utilised him, but the Pukekohe native was not interested in taking his services elsewhere.
Red Bull have backed Lawson since he was a teenager, and seen him rise through junior categories Formula Three, Formula Two and Japan’s Super Formula, in the hope of developing him into his current position.
Lawson’s elevation also ends one of Formula One’s most prevalent storylines over the current season. With the exception of Verstappen, Red Bull’s two teams have struggled to consistently score points throughout 2024.
The team were expected to axe the struggling Perez over the summer break, and promote either Lawson or Ricciardo into the senior team, only for the Mexican to be backed to continue for the rest of 2024.
In the background, Red Bull senior advisor Dr Helmut Marko has also championed Lawson’s cause in the team’s ranks.
On at least three separate occasions, Marko made it clear it was Red Bull’s prerogative to have a junior driver in the Racing Bulls seat alongside Tsunoda, with the team intended to be a development pathway into the senior team.
His presence on the Formula One grid will be a huge boost for the senior team, with Perez only contracted to the end of 2025.
Lawson’s rise to the fulltime seat comes at a good time for New Zealand fans with five of the six remaining races taking place at more TV-friendly times.
US Grand Prix, Monday October 21, 8am
Mexico Grand Prix, Monday October 28, 9am
Brazilian Grand Prix, Monday November 4, 6am
Las Vegas Grand Prix, Sunday November 24, 7pm
Qatar Grand Prix, Monday December 2, 6am
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Monday December 9, 2am
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