Lawson's F1 Debut Sends Ripples: Ricciardo's Anxious Road Ahead
Aug.30 - Liam Lawson has gone from near-uncertainty to a prime position in Formula 1 almost instantly.
As recently as late July, when Red Bull was dumping struggling AlphaTauri rookie Nyck de Vries, Dr Helmut Marko said it would have been "certainly wrong" to pull 21-year-old New Zealander Lawson out of the Super Formula series in Japan.
Indeed, Red Bull-funded Lawson is currently second overall in that category, with only one race to go at Suzuka - which clashes with F1's Mexican GP.
However, AlphaTauri has now announced that Lawson - who made his F1 debut at Zandvoort - will definitely be in Daniel Ricciardo;s car for as long as it takes until the Australian recovers from his broken hand.
"He is an option now for AlphaTauri," former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher told Sky Deutschland.
"Dr Marko rates him highly, while others see it a little differently. His weekend at Zandvoort was ok - he made the most of it."
But another former F1 driver, current Dutch F1 GP boss Jan Lammers, thinks Lawson's sudden presence on the grid will be making Ricciardo very nervous.
"It's quite a worrying development for Ricciardo," he told NOS.
"He (Ricciardo) was already under scrutiny for the rest of the year. He had to put the pressure on (Sergio) Perez ahead of 2024, but now this could have a bigger impact than he may realise.
"Lawson is already doing very well under difficult circumstances," Lammers added.
"If he scores a point at Monza now, that could well be a big blow for Ricciardo, because then Red Bull have the perfect driver to move on to next year."
And Lammers said an AlphaTauri cockpit might not be the only option for Lawson next year, as he sees him also as an outside chance to oust Perez as Max Verstappen's next teammate.
"He has a very good track record and I think Red Bull are quite daring. I'm not sure it's a risk at all," he insisted.
And if Lawson does shine brightly in Ricciardo's place from Monza onwards, other teams may show interest in him - like Williams.
"When we saw (Logan) Sargeant so devastated at Zandvoort, I got the impression that there had already been a meeting where his future had been decided - to his disadvantage," Schumacher said.
"That's just my feeling, but Williams will be interesting for many drivers. I even think that if Nico Hulkenberg had had the chance to go there, he would have signed."
Another obvious candidate to replace Sargeant at Williams is Ralf's own nephew Mick Schumacher.
"I wouldn't read too much into the rumours," Ralf Schumacher insisted.
"There are many drivers who want to get into Formula 1."
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Yes, Ricciardo's injury hiatus didn't come at a good time for his short-term future chances, although Lawson would only drive in the B-team next season in any case.
As a side note, Sargeant's devastating look probably had nothing to do with what Ralf feels might be the situation, but just the fact he suddenly became a passenger through an abnormal loss of hydraulics & power steering over minor curb contact.
Overall, this month has featured unnecessarily many unfounded rumors or claims, so I'm careful with how much I buy into them.
Jere, here is unsolicited advice. Get out your checkbook and prepare to buy into some of these 'rumors and claims'. LOLOL
I see what you mean, but for instance, I saw claims about Gio replacing Mag that ultimately proved totally unfounded & recently, I saw a rumor from Canal+ that Zhou's stay in Team Hinwill might be under threat because of sponsor money shortage.
Even if such a thing were true, this shouldn't affect his position because all teams are financially stable these days, as well as Drugovich in the same context & at Williams, all sorts of things that can't all be accurate simultaneously.
I thought Lawson's drive was one of the most underrated drives on Sunday, another performance like that and he should replace the overrated DR for the rest of the season.
I agree, especially given the team's original purpose.
It's about time we had another Kiwi on the grid! It's been a long time between drinks for the Kiwi's and F1!
As usual, we take what Ralf says with a grain of salt. The only point not in doubt, IMO, is that Liam Lawson will be doing enough in his F1 appearances this season to seal a drive in a reasonably competitive car for next year.
The future of F1 is looking good with young drivers such as Liam Lawson and Oscar Piastri shining. I know, there are others, but these two in particular have made an impact!