Written by Ria Ann Sam, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Liam Lawson will be replacing the outgoing Daniel Ricciardo at VCARB for the remainder of the 2024 Formula One season. The team officially confirmed the news on Thursday evening, leaving plenty of fans heartbroken as one of the sport's most vibrant personalities bids goodbye.
The Australian battled speculations regarding this future ahead of Formula One's latest outing at Singapore, with all the inklings pointing to one last outing for the 257-race veteran. His time in Formula One has all but come to an end as he departs the junior Red Bull outfit.
“Everyone here at VCARB would like to thank Daniel for his hard work across the last two seasons with us,” said team boss Laurent Mekies.
“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.
As for the man taking over his seat at VCARB, Lawson competed in his first Formula One race in 2023 deputising for Ricciardo who had broken his wrist during the Netherlands Grand Prix practice session. He said that jumping in mid-season would be “extremely tough” however, he proved to do quite well for a rookie.
After out-qualifying both Red Bull drivers (most notably, Max Verstappen the championship leader) and scoring points at the Singapore Grand Prix, many F1 fans were eager for him to be given a permanent seat, and now he has been given that chance.
He raced in five Grands-Prix, finishing in the top 15 every race. Lawson also scored points on his debut visit to Singapore, netting two points for AlphaTauri thanks to a ninth-position finish.
He also did well during his Formula 2 days. In 2021, Lawson’s debut season, he raced with Hitech Grand Prix, winning on debut, and also earning two other podium positions. In his second year, he raced with Carlin, eventually finishing third in the standings.
Ricciardo returned to the Red Bull family and was pencilled in mid-season to replace the struggling Nyck de Vries in 2023. The Australian has accumulated a total of 18 points in his stint with the team from Faenza so far. Ricciardo’s best performances include seventh at Mexico City in 2023, and fourth in the Miami sprint this season.
Formula 2 racer Isack Hadjar has also been in the fray for the seat. He races for Campos Racing in the feeder series and is currently second in the standings. He is in his second F2 season and has won four races so far with another two podiums.
Hadjar has also driven for AlphaTauri and Red Bull in free practice sessions, including his most recent FP1 outing with the team at Silverstone this season. The young Frenchman has been a highly-rated prospect in the eyes of advisor Helmut Marko as well.
However, the best possible choice, given the mix of youthfulness and prior experience was Lawson. The Kiwi’s steady work behind the scenes, as well as his five-race appearance deputising for the injured Ricciardo, was the clincher for the VCARB outfit.
Mekies expressed his pleasure on welcoming Lawson to the team for the remainder of the season:
“I’d also like to take this opportunity to welcome Liam. He already knows the Team well. He drove for us last season, and coped well under difficult circumstances, so it’ll be a natural transition.
“It’s great to see young talent from within the Red Bull family make the next step. We’re looking forward to getting our heads down and focusing on the rest of the season together.”
Given that Lawson has already raced alongside Yuki Tsunoda during his stand-in for the team last year, the two have strong good camaraderie, and should hopefully continue to work well together for the remainder of the season.
VCARB currently sit sixth in the Formula One standings this year, with 34 points to their name, only three ahead of fellow rivals Haas in the standings.
They will be banking on Lawson to bring his best form to the fore, utilising his experience of racing in Formula One last year to shine in the team's second seat, and justify the team's decision to slot him in at a crucial juncture of the season.
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