Liam Lawson Replaces Veteran Daniel Ricciardo at RB F1 Team

• Liam Lawson has been elevated to the RB Formula 1 seat for the remaining rounds of the 2024 campaign.

• Lawson replaces Daniel Ricciardo in a move that effectively brings an end to Formula 1 career of the popular Ricciardo.

• Ricciardo's career has included eight wins and 32 podiums across 257 F1 race starts.

Liam Lawson is in and Daniel Ricciardo is out at RB—the second team owned by Red Bull—in Formula 1 for the remainder of 2024, starting at the U.S. Grand Prix on Oct. 20 in Austin.

Lawson, 22, started five Grands Prix in 2023 when Ricciardo was sidelined through injury and impressed in his cameos, though was unable to secure a seat for 2024.

Backers Red Bull have now afforded the patient Lawson an RB seat for the remaining rounds of the 2024 campaign, in turn effectively bringing to an end the Formula 1 career of the popular Ricciardo.

“Everyone here would like to thank Daniel for his hard work across the last two seasons with us,” RB team principal Laurent Mekies said. “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.

“Daniel has been a true gentleman both on and off the track and never without that smile. He will be missed, but will always hold a special place within the Red Bull family. 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.”

No Word on 2025

Lawson has been part of Red Bull since 2019, when he joined its academy program, and has been an instant front-runner in a plethora of categories.

Lawson placed fifth in Formula 3, third in Formula 2, and second in the DTM series, before again finishing runner-up, this time in Japan’s Super Formula championship.

Ricciardo's hand injury in 2023 allowed Lawson a five-race shot at Formula 1 and he swiftly underlined his credentials with a sequence of mature drives, peaking with ninth place in Singapore. RB, however, had already committed to a lineup of Tsunoda and Ricciardo for 2024.

Lawson returned to a test and reserve role, amid the speculation that he had eventually been promised a race seat, with his outings this year confined to a handful of tire testing days.

Williams was interested in securing Lawson’s services once it decided to dispose of Logan Sargeant, but Red Bull was unwilling to release the Kiwi, and instead Williams turned to its junior driver Franco Colapinto.

RB has now opted to give Lawson the remaining six races of the 2024 campaign, in place of Ricciardo, providing him another opportunity to underline his credentials. RB has Yuki Tsunoda under contract for 2025 but despite confirming Lawson for the remainder of 2024 has not communicated its plans into next season.

That is amid speculation that Sergio Perez—despite signing a contract extension earlier this year—remains on rocky ground at Red Bull Racing amid his dire run of performance through 2024, having slumped to eighth in the championship.

The driver change ostensibly allows the company to evaluate Lawson, and his suitability for a 2025 seat at either Red Bull Racing or RB, and in the event it deems the Kiwi a credible contender for the front-running team in place of Perez then it has Formula 2 title contender Isack Hadjar as a back-up option for RB.

End of the Road for Ricciardo?

Ricciardo returned to RB—then AlphaTauri—mid-2023 after an underwhelming two-year stint at McLaren, eager to revive his reputation and secure a return to Red Bull Racing.

Ricciardo had a couple of standout performances, in Miami and Montreal, but has largely been shaded by Tsunoda, who has scored 22 points to Ricciardo’s 12.

While Perez’s performances have been unconvincing Ricciardo has not been sufficiently compelling to put himself in contention for Red Bull, while there was no interest from rival teams in trying to sign the Australian.

With Lawson waiting in the wings the axe has swung on Ricciardo’s time at RB—and probably Formula 1.

Ricciardo remains a hugely engaging personality, and is among the most popular drivers, having carved out an excellent career that has included eight wins and 32 podiums across 257 race starts.

His peak came during his five-year stint at Red Bull, twice finishing best-of-the-rest in the Drivers’ Championship behind the dominant Mercedes drivers, with some fine displays, none more so than his weekend-long control of the Monaco Grand Prix in 2018, a redemptive drive that avenged his loss of two years prior.

He also claimed two podiums for Renault, in 2020, finishing fifth in the standings in a largely overlooked but individually strong campaign.

And despite the largely dismal time he spent at McLaren, he still delivered a win in 2021, ending the team’s nine-year drought with a superb display at Monza.

But having been afforded a return to the grid with RB after his exit from McLaren in 2022, the end of the road seems to have arrived for the 35-year-old this time.

Ricciardo was understandably emotional after the Singapore Grand Prix, eloquently conveying his thoughts about where he stands, acknowledging the writing on the wall, and accepting his shortcomings in recent campaigns – and did so in a typically professional and dignified manner.

The only sour note was the uncertainty that was allowed to swirl, undermining Ricciardo, marking an ill-handling announcement from an organization that ostensibly exists as a marketing entity.

Ricciardo was not given a proper sendoff on his own terms, and was forced to navigate the Singapore Grand Prix weekend without a definitive answer on his future, which marked a surreal and sorry state of affairs. Ricciardo effectively said farewell to Formula 1, with everyone tactfully acknowledging the situation, but without anything official being communicated or noted.

The comeback with RB has not yielded the desired results but on a human level Ricciardo warranted more respect than he was afforded by management.

Ricciardo took to his personal Instagram page to all but confirm his retirement from the sport.

“I’ve loved this sport my whole life,” he wrote. “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.”