- Daniel Ricciardo reportedly has two races to save his career
- The Australian has made a slow start to the new F1 season
- Liam Lawson is reportedly being lined up to replace him
Daniel Ricciardo has been given two races to save his Formula One career, a new report has claimed.
According to the NZ Herald, Red Bull chief Helmut Marko is lining up Kiwi driver Liam Lawson to replace Ricciardo should he fail to deliver positive results at the next two Grand Prix in Japan and China.
Lawson drove Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri when he broke his wrist last year and gave a strong account of himself, leading to calls for the youngster to take the seat full time.
As it was, Red Bull kept their faith in Ricciardo for the drive at their junior team, with the Australian hoping to put together a strong pitch to eventually replace Sergio Perez with the world champions.
But a run of underwhelming performances in which he has been outshone by teammate Yuki Tsunoda has seen the pressure mount on the fan-favourite.
Daniel Ricciardo reportedly has two races to save his Formula One career
The Australian has suffered a poor start to the new Formula One campaign
The New Zealand outlet claims ‘should Ricciardo fail to improve over the next two Grand Prix in Japan and China respectively, Red Bull will perform a swap that sees Lawson likely installed in the Racing Bulls (RB) seat for Miami and remain with the team for the rest of the season.’
The report adds that Lawson is also viewed as the best long-term replacement for Perez at Red Bull, meaning he would partner Max Verstappen from 2025.
Marko said ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Marko said Ricciardo was ‘too slow’ and had to ‘come up with something soon.’
He qualified P18 at Albert Park and finished the race in P12, while Tsunoda finished in the points.
‘I felt like the frustration I’d kind of put aside for today,’ Ricciardo said after the race. ‘I kind of knew what’s done is done and tried to make the most of today.
‘It’s nice there were moments in the race where I did have pace and I was able to show, ‘okay, I can still get some good stints in there’. It was still good to get the laps.’
He finished 13th in Bahrain and 16th in Jeddah, but insists he hasn’t lost belief in his ability to rediscover his mojo.
New Zealander Liam Lawson is reportedly being lined up to replace him
Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has identified Lawson as a future star
‘I definitely believe I can do it,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t say there’s any panic. I would’ve loved this season to have started better, but we’ll just keep digging.’
He added: ‘It’s not that we’ve changed everything and all of a sudden this car suits Yuki (Tsunoda) and doesn’t suit me. I certainly don’t feel it’s anything like that.
‘I think we will find something. I thought it would’ve been this weekend. Maybe it’s next, and if it’s not the next, then we’ll keep going until it happens.
‘It will happen.’
Christian Horner said of Ricciardo’s form: ‘He’s a big boy, he’ll pick himself up.
‘F1 for a driver can be lonely so a bit of encouragement is never a bad thing.’
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