No changes in the Red Bull teams: After Sergio Perez, Daniel Ricciardo also gets to keep his cockpit – No change with Liam Lawson
Daniel Ricciardo will remain in the Racing Bulls cockpit after the summer break, meaning that the Red Bull B team will line up at Zandvoort with an unchanged driver pairing. This is reported by our colleagues from Motorsport.com,
At the meeting in Milton Keynes on Monday, it was not only decided that Sergio Perez can keep his seat at Red Bull, Ricciardo will also remain in his cockpit for the time being, so there will be no short-term changes at either Red Bull team.
Liam Lawson will therefore have to continue to wait for his return to Formula 1 and hope that he will be a candidate for 2025 – just like numerous other juniors from the junior squad.
The decisions at Red Bull were eagerly awaited after the recent races. After Sergio Perez’s extremely mixed performances of late, the Mexican was considered a hot candidate for replacement. Lawson, Yuki Tsunoda and even Ricciardo were mentioned as possible successors.
But after the Mexican’s departure, it was clear that none of the RB drivers would make the step up. However, it was also decided at the meeting at the Red Bull factory not to cut any of the Racing Bulls drivers.
Tsunoda has a contract for the coming season anyway, but Ricciardo’s cockpit in particular was in serious danger. The experienced driver, who actually wanted to recommend himself to Red Bull, had a tough time against Tsunoda in 2024 and was only ahead of the Japanese driver in five qualifying sessions and races.
Nevertheless, he will be allowed to continue driving for Racing Bulls after the summer break. He recently finished tenth in the points at Spa, which could have saved his cockpit once again.
Managing Director Peter Bayer recently told Motorsport.com: “Daniel has really helped us a lot. When he joined the team last year, he brought a whole new energy and spirit to the team and he has been extremely helpful in supporting Yuki. Yuki recently said that he is still learning from Daniel.”
“It’s part of our job, also as a mandate from the shareholders, to develop drivers. And that is what we are currently doing.”
However, there is unlikely to be a future for Ricciardo in the RB team beyond 2024, as motorsport consultant Helmut Marko recently made it clear that the Racing Bulls will once again become more of a junior team.
However, at least Ricciardo can continue to prove himself for the time being, with a view to perhaps joining Red Bull as Perez’s replacement in 2025.