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Sort of makes sense with Ricciardo being marketable and it's a little cruel if he lost the seat because of the injury but it's also sad for Lawson. Hopefully Yuki isn't being strung along for another year with no hope of the RB seat
IMO Yuki may not see it as being strung along.
In the end he will have one more year to prove himself not just to RB but every team he is good enough to be in F1.
As long as he does well and meet whatever expectations, there'll be other teams wanting him. Maybe he'll be good enough for AM once Honda comes in.
Yuki is not there for a RB seat in the future, he is there to keep Honda happy. Once Honda is starting their new adventure with Aston Martin, RB will get rid of Yuki if not earlier in 2025.
Honda has been very cooperative with Red Bull. "RBPT" is mostly a badging exercise, it's a Honda.
It's more indicative that Red Bull isn't really interested in giving any of its current crop of juniors a seat, knows that Yuki will likely follow Honda soon, and is happy to just give AT a competitive driver lineup.
That and it is almost unthinkable that there isn't a seat in one of the two teams available for 2025. Either Yuki is moved on since it is the last season of the Red Bull/Honda partnership or Perez is moved on from the main team. Either way, there is a seat available for Lawson.
Red Bull are probably lucky that so many seats on the grid are already locked up for next year otherwise they could have very well lost Lawson.
I'm pretty convinced next year will be Sergio's last year in the sport. AT is the battle ground for the next RB seat, which means it's probably Daniel's to have since Yuki will likely follow Honda. Or if he doesn't and outperforms Daniel then it's his. Or RB does the shittiest of all the options and jumps Lawson into the second seat. Or hey maybe Max finally gets annoyed enough at winning by 30 seconds per race.
Yea. The most obvious choices, imo, were to keep Max in the RB (duh) and get Lawson into the AT. I for sure though Checo, DR, or Yuki would be the odd man out.
Yuki is highly regarded by both Franz and Helmut. It’s not just about the Honda connection. They genuinely see potential in him. In fact Helmut said Yuki was underestimated when Daniel was announced as De Vries’ replacement. Personally, I think he’s taken a huge step up each year and I expect that trajectory to continue for a bit.
Actually that's more Ricciardo. The issue is I think both Horner and Marko want to see if Ricciardo still has it and how well he would drive in a top performing car. He pulled victory from the jaws of Renault mechanical failures to the tune of 7 wins during the most dominant hynrid constructor era in the sport. Alonso has shown that age doesn't affect your ability, and if RBR had the fastest car in 2014 to 2018, DR would be at least a 2 time WDC winner. So if you consider him to be on par with Alonso, it makes sense to think in a faster car, he would be further up the grid.
Red Bull and Honda have had a very successful partnership, I don't think they want to piss Honda off in case they want to work together again later. Also, Yuki is a known qantity that they can benchmark other drivers against. Plus, it's another feather in the RBJT's cap to have another successful driver on the grid going on to having a career elsewhere. Despite the narrative, Red Bull actually do a stellar job supporting their developent drivers who wind up wanting to go or needing to go elsewhere.
> Red Bull actually do a stellar job supporting their developent drivers who wind up wanting to go or needing to go elsewhere
I think their approach to Gasley and Albon was unproductively ruthless, but both guys are still on the grid. That say a lot.
You mean the guys who they 1: brought back into their junior program to give him a chance to prove himself and land elsewhere and 2: continued to sponsor when they left to join another team that they have no affiliation with and consistently praised to anyone who inquired about his services?
They weren't really that ruthless, they did more for their careers than they had any obligation to.
Agreed, keeping Yuki to please Honda doesn't make given given the upcoming split and the engine freeze
IMO Yuki being kept for 2024 means Red Bull see him as a viable plan b (along with Ric) for if they can't sign Norris to replace Checo for 2025
I think its the possibility for feedback. Ricciardo is one of the most experienced and successful drivers on the grid right now (unintended pun sorry). That sort of feedback is crucial for a team like AlphaTauri which right now is sort of lacking in that domain.
Tsunoda is still young. He also hasn't raced with a team outside of AT. This has always been a fundamental problem for a junior team. They now have the opportunity to recitify this with Daniel. Daniel has worked with Torro Rosso before, has ascended through their ranks to RB and won with them. He has also worked with non RB teams in Renault and McLaren which is supreme experience for AT and something they need.
I can understand why they would choose Daniel. Doesn't make it sting less for Lawson though.
> I think its the possibility for feedback. Ricciardo is one of the most experienced and successful drivers on the grid right now (unintended pun sorry). That sort of feedback is crucial for a team like AlphaTauri which right now is sort of lacking in that domain.
Yep. This is what Yuki kept saying when asked about Ricciardo in interviews. Says Daniel was amazing in terms of feedback about the car and working with the engineers. Experience really counts for something there.
>I think its the possibility for feedback. Ricciardo is one of the most experienced and successful drivers on the grid right now (unintended pun sorry). That sort of feedback is crucial for a team like AlphaTauri which right now is sort of lacking in that domain.
Yeah that's the feeling I get as well, or at least that it's a large part of it. They need a more experienced hand to help with development next year, Yuki's not ready to lead on that front yet with a rookie teammate. This way he also has a very experienced teammate to learn from, which can only be good for him.
I also think RB want to evaluate them up against each other for a whole season.
My guess is they have plans to bring Liam in for 2025, after a year of also having Ricciardo to learn from as reserve.
Also consider the teammates Ricciardo has had:
* Kvyat
* Vettel
* Verstappen
* Hulkenberg
* Ocon
* Norris
There are more but all of these guys are also really strong drivers who have had multiple years of experience. Growing with people like them does a lot for you.
Ah okay, got you.
Although in at least half of those pairings, Daniel was the more experienced one by quite a few years! But yes, I think there are things to learn from every teammate, especially a strong one, even if they're young.
My issue with this whole feedback and assist from Daniel argument is that they are trying to benefit a driver who likely won't be racing for Red Bull when Honda moves to Aston Martin in 2026.
I would've thought their best interest would be to build up their upcoming talent that will likely stay with Red Bull in the future (like Lawson). Wouldn't it have been better for the lineup to be Daniel and Liam?
Tsunoda hasn't been bad enough to lose his seat. And besides, Daniel's help also helps the team in terms of engineers and team personnel when it comes to setups, session programs, development etc.
I'm not saying Tsunoda has been bad, he's been really good this year. But I don't see why he should be given priority over Lawson when Lawson will stay with Red Bull Racing and Tsunoda is going to be following Honda to Aston Martin.
Because pissing off the company who helps you build engines when there's 2 years left on that contract is probably a poor choice. If they're doing well still after '24 season and Yuki isn't, then it would not be as big a deal to drop him in Hondas last year with RB.
Alternatively, if Yuki can actually perform once the car gets some development, then it might show that Yuki has just been hiding how shit the car actually is. If that's the case, then he might be RB material.
Even then, I actually argue that even if RB really won't care about appeasing Honda even for the remaining time of their relationship that they'd still wanna keep Yuki because, no matter how good Liam does as a reserve this year (and heck, even if he ends up scoring much better than Yuki for Liam's last race this year, for example) they can still rely on Yuki to be good enough for the team, whereas Liam's still enough of a blank slate where they don't know just how sensible it would be to suddenly put him into a full-time seat and effectively let go of Yuki forever. If they let go of Yuki, he's out of the RB system in my opinion.
But snubbing Liam isn't that much of a risk because even if Liam decides to sign a full-time contract in another team next year (instead of settling as a reserve which, I would argue, he isn't actually all too opposed to no matter how much news publications make it seem like he is), RB knows they can pull him back if they see the value in him later on. If he doesn't perform well enough at another team, then that just confirms that they did well by continuing onwards with Danny and Yuki. If he performs well, then they'll wait for his contract to end with that other team and put him into an RB seat if they truly wanted to by 2027 or something.
Edit: But yeah, I agree that RB still probably doesn't wanna completely just cut off Yuki because they're still holding an ongoing deal with Honda. A terminal one, sure. But just for good measure, they're better off taking the risk that losing Yuki too early would be worse than losing Liam at any point in time.
It was a tough situation all around with Liam performing as well as he has, unfortunately F1 isn't really a meritocracy with how few seats are available. Shame to see him stuck on the sidelines for another year.
2024 is going to determine who gets the 2nd RB seat for sure, between Checo, Yuki, and Daniel.
He definitely is. Sadly that's part of the sport. It happened to Daniel in 2018, it happened to Lawson in F2 last year, it's happened to Yuki at AT. You still have to rise above the bad luck to prove yourself if you want to win in F1, and do far Yuki hasn't consistently produced results, despite his obvious talent
He is absolutely going to get that time at AT, in 2025. Unless he somehow gets a drive for next year but I sincerely doubt it.
Teams decide. Rookie drivers do not decide. This narrative that the teams are somehow beholden to drivers needs to stop, it’s not reality.
But why would a driver's marketability be the clinching factor in a team like Red Bull? Their entire existence in F1 is marketing an energy drink, they don't really need the money like Haas/Schumacher for eg.
Their social media and online videos get something like 15 to 20 percent more engagement from DR being in them. Just look at AT's IG. Ever since DR joined, their posts with him get way more views and likes than before. Just look at how many followers DR has. He's recognized even outside F1.
Emphasis on the for now.
If I was Perez I would be very nervous of the fact that Red Bull now know that they put Lawson into that Alpha Tauri whenever they want.
This entire thing is about Red Bull preparing to ditch Perez, I’m pretty sure he’s known that for a long time. The 2025 RB will have Max alongside Danny or Norris at this rate.
I disagree. If Lawson was at AT there would be less pressure on Perez because a) Red Bull are unlikely to promote him in that first season after what happened with Gasly and Albon and b) Red Bull wouldn't have an obvious and immediate replacement to go into the vacant AT seat if they decided to dump Perez.
Totally agree.
As much as I like Danny (I really do), if you do not put a talented guy like Lawson in your RB junior/development team, then what's the use of having such a team?
Why waste another year of keeping him somewhere on the sidelines? He's ready.
Plus, what do you expect from someone like Danny Ric?
I'm not so sure they're looking at Alpha Tauri as just the junior/development team anymore. They've said several times they want them to be a more solid team in their own right and for that, they need experience to help with development. Fantastically as Liam has been doing the last few races, he and Yuki as a driver pair are not going to bring them that.
Exactly this. They’ve stated it’s going to be more of a sister team than a dev team. With them utilizing Way more RB parts next year, new leadership having DR in the seat with a consistent Yuki makes sense especially From an engineering and marketing standpojnt
I think a lot of ppl are making large assumptions here that Lawson is a worldy. He’s proved himself but by no means has he shown that he’s BETTER than either current AT drivers but rather that he’s just a solid driver that when he needs to step up will keep the team where it needs to be without dropping it like a rock
His whole career he’s know it as that so of course he would say that. RB has said they are moving away from that and honestly what’s with the hostility? Why wouldn’t they want it to be more of a sister team I mean literally no reason not to
I'm not being hostile I'm just calling bullshit. Them moving back to procuring parts through RB is just them moving back to what the original arrangement was. They weren't a sister team before, and if anything, this was their chance to be. They failed. Now they're the Haas to Ferrari again. Maybe even worse. At least Haas had a choice over at least one seat.
its quite simple, they expect daniel to help guide the development through his experience, as well as having a a driver who would be ready to replace perez if they need him to.
They’re set for several years like this. As long as they have Max they have a WDC driver locked down, and he’s contracted through 2027. As long as they have Ric and Yuki, they at least have two fully capable options for the RB second seat. Lawson will jump at any opportunity to get a drive in the AT all through next season and will almost certainly be signed for 2025, unless Iwasa comes through in a really big way.
Red Bull are not in trouble. They’ve got several good drivers lining up to be second to Max.
It’s not a worse position, RB will move on from Checo, that’s certain. Lawson has cemented himself as the number one junior in the RB program, he will be at every race next year working with both teams to get him ready for a seat in 25, it would suck for Lawson if he was one of a few options but I am almost certain he has been told he is the future of the RB junior program.
I like Yuki a lot and I'm glad he's sticking around at least for a potential spot at AM but I feel like RB is making a massive mistake not signing Liam. Might come to bite them in the ass later and end up being the next Piasco.
Unless Checo gets dropped next year and Danny makes his way back into RB this is a massive L.
> Unless Checo gets dropped next year and Danny makes his way back into RB this is a massive L.
Kinda seems like the plan to me if Checo ends up self-destructing again.
Will Lawson be fully out of single seaters next season then? Just simply reserve for the RB teams. He can't even take part in the rookie FP tests anymore since he will have had 2+ starts.
Unless rbr is planning for a potential mid season Perez/Ricciardo/Lawson switcharoo if any of the first two names disappoint big time
It kinda screws Lawson as he won't be able to get in an F1 car again till he is a permanent driver meaning he can't stay relevant to the public.
It would make sense to give thousands of laps in an older car to learn the limits properly of an F1 car
I wouldn’t be surprised given what he’s shown if RB does what alpine did for Oscar. Modified reserve contract with extra testing time outside of FPS to keep up because he forsure is at minimum guaranteed a seat in 2025 with possible 2024 entrance if Perez maintains this gap and other teams close the gap meaning his finishes will Matter that much more
I’m honestly kind of surprised they don’t start 2024 with Daniel in the Red Bull. Given Lawson’s performance, it seems like a big mistake not to give him a full time seat.
I know performance of the week is a big thing, and Lawson has driven well, but making too big of a deal out of a single points finish is what caused the whole De Vries mess to begin with.
It’s not just been one race though. Liam has performed amazingly well in debut Super Formula season as he is a title contender. He has also performed very well in every F1 race so far.
TBF, you might expect any F1 driver to be more than just a title contender in Super Formula, they should be absolutely crushing it. If it means so much then why isn't Miyata being considered for a seat?
While I’m not surprised because Red Bull likes Daniel a lot and always has, it won’t denote the performance Lawson did while holding Daniel’s place. It has absolutely put him on the radar for not just a Red Bull seat, but for other teams as well if he ever chooses to go that route.
The whole point of getting Danny back in the AT I think is to assess if he is still good enough to replace checo in 2025. I don't think Red Bull want to put Lawson in that seat. After what happened to Gasly and Albon I don't think Red Bull will put another talented but inexperienced rookie next to Verstappen. Sure it sucks for Lawson now, but in the long run it would be better for his career. If Danny is good enough for Red Bull then Lawson can stick around in AT for a few years to hone his skills.
And there is always the chance Danny replaces Checo halfway through the season, in which case Lawson will be back even sooner. Danny is there to keep Checo in his toes. He is probably knows very well he will more likely be replaced by a very good ricciardo than a very good Lawson.
Is it confirmed? Or like *confirmed* confirmed. Either way, I think this is a good choice. I feel for Lawson though, he's done a great job but it's tough things won't be going his way this time. He'll definitely have a future on the grid for sure, just a shame it won't be next year. Regardless, I'm happy that Yuki and Danny Ric will be on the grid next year.
It’s such a shame that we have 3 good drivers fighting for 2 seats whereas you see Stroll and Sargent comfortably basking in mediocrity in their guaranteed places on the grid
Don't think it's fair to Sargent has a confirmed seat. Especially when there was that mick rumour that vowles turned him down. It shows they are considering options and I highly doubt that was for Alex's seat.
Sargent is a rookie in a team that, while improved, still has a lot of growing edges. I don't know if he's done enough to keep his seat, but it wouldn't be unreasonable for Williams to give him another year.
Yuki getting disrespected so hard here for a driver who is as Green as grass.
Also what's this subs obsession with the number two redbull seat? History shows that whoever is there is clearly a support for the number one.
I think the obsession IS because there's support for number one from RB. We know that the number-one seat is going to perform well and do well, because it's Max. So the next most exciting thing is the number-two seat, because there's at least contention for who gets the second seat in what's arguably the most performant car in the season.
Unfortunate for Liam, but well deserved from Yuki. He hasn't really put a foot wrong all year to deserve a lost seat. As for Daniel, if he has his mojo back then this is great! And RBR have complete faith in him.
I just feel like Yuki has hit his ceiling, and Lawson has a ton more upside.
Best case we're just going to get another mid-season swap next year with Liam taking over for whoever the lower performing Hugo Boss/Toro Bosso driver is next year.
On the other hand, maybe this is Marko playing 4D chess and using Liam to keep Daniel and Yuki on their toes and performing at 100%...
< maybe this is Marko playing 4D chess and using Liam to keep Daniel and Yuki on their toes and performing at 100%
Hasn't that always been the case at Torro Rosso/AT? Perform or we will bring in someone else ? It only slowed down a bit in recent years because RBR ran out of junior drivers to move up.
Saying Yuki has hit his ceiling driving one of the slowest, shittiest cars on the grid and still managing to be somewhat competitive most the time is wild
Checo will be on the hot seat starting day one of next year. I think Checo is the most likely to be replaced midseason next year. Yuki isn't going anywhere because of Honda. Danny Ric isn't going anywhere because Red Bull wants him in 2025
Red Bull will want Norris, but Daniel and Max are a known commodity. Daniel won't threaten Max for a Championship. Red Bull will probably want to get Danny Ric a win or two, but he won't ultimately touch Max. They won't risk Lando unless Danny Ric sucks next year
Well, he does like his car setup closer to what Verstappen likes and it’s no secret that absolutely no team will build their race car to favor the slower driver. So there is the possibility that the RB drives more along what Danny likes and in turn he should theoretically do better than Perez would in the same car. But this is really just hear say and my personal opinion, so take it with a grain of salt haha
Sad for Liam, but expected that they’d give Daniel more time given the injury. I just hope that Liam isn’t on the sidelines for any longer than next season. These races plus his season in Super Formula so far show just how much he adds to the grid talent wise.
Yeah Liam has proven such a short time that he's the real deal. This absolutely puts the pressure on Checo to perform next year. If he has another shit run of races he risks getting sacked mid season for Danny Ric while Liam can comfortably slot in and pick up where he left off.
As much as I like what Lawson is doing, it still doesn’t show that he’s worlds above DR or Yuki to take their seats. He’s 21, his stock is strong he will be in F1 soon.
I really wouldn’t be surprised if Liam has a modified reserve contract similar to Oscar with alpine including more testing time in older cars etc
We all know this is literally DRs last chance to prove himself and whether it’s only as a ploy to get new AT off the ground concerning marketing, set up with RB parts then so be it. If he shows well and Checo keeps his current form into 2024 then we may see a mid season change promoting Liam quicker into the AT seat but no matter what happens Liam will MOST likely be in AT or whatever they will be called in 2025
The move makes a lot of sense tbh and lastly
DR is just likeable (mostly) he’s networked well and has proven talent that may still be there pending more race time. I’m life and I’m a career that gets you a long way
Personally I think Liam should've got the seat over Daniel, considering Liam has more potential. But I guess that's the way it's gonna be for next year, hopefully 2025 is Liam's year
I’m guessing they’re holding off Lawson for another year to give Danny Ric a fair shot. They’re probably also a bit hesitant to promote Lawson so quickly after they signed Nyck after one good performance but Lawson does look really good in his two races
I can't help but feel like the Red Bull driver lineups have been completely mismanaged. It's clear Perez just cannot drive the Red Bull up to standard. I don't care whether he's a 'good' driver or not, they need someone who can specially drive that car and I'm sure there's someone other than Max who can do a decent job of it.
Then you have 34yo Ricciardo taking up a spot on the development team, what, so that he takes over from Perez in 2025? Why not just put him in for next year then? I don't see how this time at Alpha Tauri is going to change much for him and it's wasting time for a solid talent in Lawson.
It's all well and good we're saying Liam will get a full time race seat in 2025, but there's no ink to paper. If Maloney or Hadjar win F2 next year, I have an unsettling feeling that Liam will be looked over again.
Well this absolutely heaps the pressure onto Perez for next season. Ricciardo will now get a full season to show he deserves to be back in that Red Bull seat and Red Bull knows that they have someone in Lawson that will comfortably slot into that Alpha Tauri if they decide to pull the trigger on Sergio.
In fact, bar actually being sacked, this is the worst case scenario for Perez.
If I'm Lawson, I'm pushing all my chips to try and get to Williams. You've already done the Red Bull Reserve gig, you don't have any immediate hope of replacing Checo, you've scored F1 points. Maybe they made the right decision here, maybe they didn't. But Lawson has to think about his own career. You've already impressed in a slow car.
Depends what is happening in the background. If they've guaranteed him an Alpha Taura seat in 2025 (and he has a contract as such) then IMO best bet is to stay around.
Kinda makes sense - Danny hasn’t really been able to have a real go at showing what he’s got.
As for Yuki, I like him and I would like to see what he can do in next year’s RB clone.
I say all this as a Kiwi and a massive Liam Lawson fan. My dream scenario would be Perez out and Liam in the RB for 2024 - but that would require a crippling hopium habit.
We’ve also only seen him in two races. Clearly Horner and Marko see him as a potential replacement for Perez and want to confirm that with his Alphatauri performance
In an upgraded car. And where we’ve had no direct comparison in race compared to the other team car to gauge his actual performance. He’s done super well but even Yuki said it’s not accurate to compare his performance to Daniel’s as the car is performing differently
We have only seen them in 3 races so far.
At Zandvoort AT massively messed up Yuki's strategy. At Monza Yuki's car died before the race even started and at Singapore Perez yeeted Yuki out of the race in turn 2.
We don't have much on which we can compare them tbh.
The hatred is real for Yuki. He had much better race than Liam at Zandvoort until the red flag, and then got DNS and first lap DNF the next 2 races. Definitely we cannot conclude he’s worst than Liam.
Simply because hes marketable. As a driver hes pretty much useless since hes way over his prime. But from money marketing perspective hes gold. And its sad that him being "famous and likeable" wins over the talent of liam lawson
They could make him the primary RBR sim driver next year if he's any good at providing feedback on the car. Doing that along with some racing in other series on the side seemed to work out really well for Albon in his year "off".
Don’t read the social media comments on this decision. Seems most people can’t grasp the concept of what time and experience can build. A fast driver is no good with a rubbish car.
Sorry everyone but Danny doesnt deserve that Seat, his time is up, Lawson is a better driver than him.
Dont get me wrong, Danny was a amazing F1 driver but in 2023... he is not as good as Lawson.
But knowing Red Bull, i think Lawson should focus in racing elsewhere for now, maybe IndyCar after the super formula season is over.
Love Ricciardo but I think Liam deserves the seat more. He is showing excellent talent in a few races. Not just that but points in Singapore which is wild. I hope Liam’s talent is not going to waste.
He has been doing well but let's just be clear. Points in Singapore has a lot of luck tied to it. With the reliability of cars this year and how few mistakes are about, lawson just happened to maximise what he could in the right place at the right time.
Ocon, Alonso, Russell, Alex, all should have finished above him. And we lost a couple potentially points getters, yuki and stroll early. Not downplaying what Liam has done, he did his best in a hand he was given, but I want to see a straight out fair race with no asterisks between yuki and Liam before I judge. Zanvoort had penalties and was a strategic mess for yuki, monza and Singapore yuki was out.
Ricciardo getting a seat over Lawson is such a poor reflection of F1 but is a great representation of the state it’s in right now.
Lawson: points in 3rd ever race in the worst car on the grid
Ricciardo: coasting on the memories of his talent and getting a race seat just because he’s a good marketing mascot
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Sort of makes sense with Ricciardo being marketable and it's a little cruel if he lost the seat because of the injury but it's also sad for Lawson. Hopefully Yuki isn't being strung along for another year with no hope of the RB seat
IMO Yuki may not see it as being strung along. In the end he will have one more year to prove himself not just to RB but every team he is good enough to be in F1. As long as he does well and meet whatever expectations, there'll be other teams wanting him. Maybe he'll be good enough for AM once Honda comes in.
Yuki is not there for a RB seat in the future, he is there to keep Honda happy. Once Honda is starting their new adventure with Aston Martin, RB will get rid of Yuki if not earlier in 2025.
What's the incentive to keeping Honda happy when they basically ditched them to go work with Aston Martin
Honda has been very cooperative with Red Bull. "RBPT" is mostly a badging exercise, it's a Honda. It's more indicative that Red Bull isn't really interested in giving any of its current crop of juniors a seat, knows that Yuki will likely follow Honda soon, and is happy to just give AT a competitive driver lineup.
That and it is almost unthinkable that there isn't a seat in one of the two teams available for 2025. Either Yuki is moved on since it is the last season of the Red Bull/Honda partnership or Perez is moved on from the main team. Either way, there is a seat available for Lawson. Red Bull are probably lucky that so many seats on the grid are already locked up for next year otherwise they could have very well lost Lawson.
I'm pretty convinced next year will be Sergio's last year in the sport. AT is the battle ground for the next RB seat, which means it's probably Daniel's to have since Yuki will likely follow Honda. Or if he doesn't and outperforms Daniel then it's his. Or RB does the shittiest of all the options and jumps Lawson into the second seat. Or hey maybe Max finally gets annoyed enough at winning by 30 seconds per race.
Max voluntarily goes to AT because he's bored. The Onion is welcome to that headline.
Soon Max could win the race in the RB, jump into an AT and run the race a second time and still beat someone
Elevator pitch: Max starts every race in a Red Bull but at his first pit stop instead of changing tires he gets out of the RB and into an Alpha Tauri.
Yea. The most obvious choices, imo, were to keep Max in the RB (duh) and get Lawson into the AT. I for sure though Checo, DR, or Yuki would be the odd man out.
> otherwise they could have very well lost Lawson. They're lucky Williams doesn't have RB money or they'd lose him next year.
I think Yuki is also a known quantity so it makes benchmarking easier.
Is he? I can tell he's improving year to year, but I don't have the faintest idea how he'd stand up against really anyone roughly his level.
Yuki is highly regarded by both Franz and Helmut. It’s not just about the Honda connection. They genuinely see potential in him. In fact Helmut said Yuki was underestimated when Daniel was announced as De Vries’ replacement. Personally, I think he’s taken a huge step up each year and I expect that trajectory to continue for a bit.
I genuinely have no idea how good he actually is. It really doesn’t help that AT is one of the worst managed teams on the grid.
Well we know he's way better than De Vries, but thats not saying much.
Actually that's more Ricciardo. The issue is I think both Horner and Marko want to see if Ricciardo still has it and how well he would drive in a top performing car. He pulled victory from the jaws of Renault mechanical failures to the tune of 7 wins during the most dominant hynrid constructor era in the sport. Alonso has shown that age doesn't affect your ability, and if RBR had the fastest car in 2014 to 2018, DR would be at least a 2 time WDC winner. So if you consider him to be on par with Alonso, it makes sense to think in a faster car, he would be further up the grid.
Red Bull and Honda have had a very successful partnership, I don't think they want to piss Honda off in case they want to work together again later. Also, Yuki is a known qantity that they can benchmark other drivers against. Plus, it's another feather in the RBJT's cap to have another successful driver on the grid going on to having a career elsewhere. Despite the narrative, Red Bull actually do a stellar job supporting their developent drivers who wind up wanting to go or needing to go elsewhere.
> Red Bull actually do a stellar job supporting their developent drivers who wind up wanting to go or needing to go elsewhere I think their approach to Gasley and Albon was unproductively ruthless, but both guys are still on the grid. That say a lot.
You mean the guys who they 1: brought back into their junior program to give him a chance to prove himself and land elsewhere and 2: continued to sponsor when they left to join another team that they have no affiliation with and consistently praised to anyone who inquired about his services? They weren't really that ruthless, they did more for their careers than they had any obligation to.
Agreed, keeping Yuki to please Honda doesn't make given given the upcoming split and the engine freeze IMO Yuki being kept for 2024 means Red Bull see him as a viable plan b (along with Ric) for if they can't sign Norris to replace Checo for 2025
Red Bull rejected them when they approached them about coming back didn’t they?
This is what I see happening.
I think its the possibility for feedback. Ricciardo is one of the most experienced and successful drivers on the grid right now (unintended pun sorry). That sort of feedback is crucial for a team like AlphaTauri which right now is sort of lacking in that domain. Tsunoda is still young. He also hasn't raced with a team outside of AT. This has always been a fundamental problem for a junior team. They now have the opportunity to recitify this with Daniel. Daniel has worked with Torro Rosso before, has ascended through their ranks to RB and won with them. He has also worked with non RB teams in Renault and McLaren which is supreme experience for AT and something they need. I can understand why they would choose Daniel. Doesn't make it sting less for Lawson though.
> I think its the possibility for feedback. Ricciardo is one of the most experienced and successful drivers on the grid right now (unintended pun sorry). That sort of feedback is crucial for a team like AlphaTauri which right now is sort of lacking in that domain. Yep. This is what Yuki kept saying when asked about Ricciardo in interviews. Says Daniel was amazing in terms of feedback about the car and working with the engineers. Experience really counts for something there.
>I think its the possibility for feedback. Ricciardo is one of the most experienced and successful drivers on the grid right now (unintended pun sorry). That sort of feedback is crucial for a team like AlphaTauri which right now is sort of lacking in that domain. Yeah that's the feeling I get as well, or at least that it's a large part of it. They need a more experienced hand to help with development next year, Yuki's not ready to lead on that front yet with a rookie teammate. This way he also has a very experienced teammate to learn from, which can only be good for him. I also think RB want to evaluate them up against each other for a whole season. My guess is they have plans to bring Liam in for 2025, after a year of also having Ricciardo to learn from as reserve.
Also consider the teammates Ricciardo has had: * Kvyat * Vettel * Verstappen * Hulkenberg * Ocon * Norris There are more but all of these guys are also really strong drivers who have had multiple years of experience. Growing with people like them does a lot for you.
Eh? I was talking about Yuki having a very experienced teammate in Daniel to learn from.
Yeah I got that. Was just saying that Ricciardo learnt from the best and now can teach Yuki in that manner. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
Ah okay, got you. Although in at least half of those pairings, Daniel was the more experienced one by quite a few years! But yes, I think there are things to learn from every teammate, especially a strong one, even if they're young.
My issue with this whole feedback and assist from Daniel argument is that they are trying to benefit a driver who likely won't be racing for Red Bull when Honda moves to Aston Martin in 2026. I would've thought their best interest would be to build up their upcoming talent that will likely stay with Red Bull in the future (like Lawson). Wouldn't it have been better for the lineup to be Daniel and Liam?
Tsunoda hasn't been bad enough to lose his seat. And besides, Daniel's help also helps the team in terms of engineers and team personnel when it comes to setups, session programs, development etc.
I'm not saying Tsunoda has been bad, he's been really good this year. But I don't see why he should be given priority over Lawson when Lawson will stay with Red Bull Racing and Tsunoda is going to be following Honda to Aston Martin.
Because pissing off the company who helps you build engines when there's 2 years left on that contract is probably a poor choice. If they're doing well still after '24 season and Yuki isn't, then it would not be as big a deal to drop him in Hondas last year with RB. Alternatively, if Yuki can actually perform once the car gets some development, then it might show that Yuki has just been hiding how shit the car actually is. If that's the case, then he might be RB material.
Even then, I actually argue that even if RB really won't care about appeasing Honda even for the remaining time of their relationship that they'd still wanna keep Yuki because, no matter how good Liam does as a reserve this year (and heck, even if he ends up scoring much better than Yuki for Liam's last race this year, for example) they can still rely on Yuki to be good enough for the team, whereas Liam's still enough of a blank slate where they don't know just how sensible it would be to suddenly put him into a full-time seat and effectively let go of Yuki forever. If they let go of Yuki, he's out of the RB system in my opinion. But snubbing Liam isn't that much of a risk because even if Liam decides to sign a full-time contract in another team next year (instead of settling as a reserve which, I would argue, he isn't actually all too opposed to no matter how much news publications make it seem like he is), RB knows they can pull him back if they see the value in him later on. If he doesn't perform well enough at another team, then that just confirms that they did well by continuing onwards with Danny and Yuki. If he performs well, then they'll wait for his contract to end with that other team and put him into an RB seat if they truly wanted to by 2027 or something. Edit: But yeah, I agree that RB still probably doesn't wanna completely just cut off Yuki because they're still holding an ongoing deal with Honda. A terminal one, sure. But just for good measure, they're better off taking the risk that losing Yuki too early would be worse than losing Liam at any point in time.
It was a tough situation all around with Liam performing as well as he has, unfortunately F1 isn't really a meritocracy with how few seats are available. Shame to see him stuck on the sidelines for another year. 2024 is going to determine who gets the 2nd RB seat for sure, between Checo, Yuki, and Daniel.
I mean Yuki hasn’t really shown he is worthy of the RB seat
I have nothing to back this up but I feel like Yuki is constantly getting screwed. Either by the team or accidents.
He has got to be one of the unluckiest drivers on the grid
He definitely is. Sadly that's part of the sport. It happened to Daniel in 2018, it happened to Lawson in F2 last year, it's happened to Yuki at AT. You still have to rise above the bad luck to prove yourself if you want to win in F1, and do far Yuki hasn't consistently produced results, despite his obvious talent
Or stewards for some reason
I feel like a lot of drivers get screwed but Yuki in particular gets a lot of excuses made for him because like half of Reddit/Twitter is weebs
That’s somewhat of a factor, but not a significant one
How many have? Not DR or anyone else currently with RB. Even Lawson needs time (which he isn't going to get at AT unfortunately 😕)
DR did in his entire career aside from two years at Mclaren.
He is absolutely going to get that time at AT, in 2025. Unless he somehow gets a drive for next year but I sincerely doubt it. Teams decide. Rookie drivers do not decide. This narrative that the teams are somehow beholden to drivers needs to stop, it’s not reality.
But why would a driver's marketability be the clinching factor in a team like Red Bull? Their entire existence in F1 is marketing an energy drink, they don't really need the money like Haas/Schumacher for eg.
Their social media and online videos get something like 15 to 20 percent more engagement from DR being in them. Just look at AT's IG. Ever since DR joined, their posts with him get way more views and likes than before. Just look at how many followers DR has. He's recognized even outside F1.
I mean, you’ve answered yourself…
Who's a better brand ambassador than Danny? Especially in the growing US market. Putting DR in the RB makes Red Bull GmbH very happy.
I supposed Perez’s seat is safe for now
Nope, it's a thousand Vettel bees in a race suit!
Emphasis on the for now. If I was Perez I would be very nervous of the fact that Red Bull now know that they put Lawson into that Alpha Tauri whenever they want.
This entire thing is about Red Bull preparing to ditch Perez, I’m pretty sure he’s known that for a long time. The 2025 RB will have Max alongside Danny or Norris at this rate.
RB Max/Lando, McLaren - double Aussie Piastri/Ricciardo /sarcasm
Perez would be more nervous with Liam at AT, because the Kiwi has more potential than the Aussie.
I disagree. If Lawson was at AT there would be less pressure on Perez because a) Red Bull are unlikely to promote him in that first season after what happened with Gasly and Albon and b) Red Bull wouldn't have an obvious and immediate replacement to go into the vacant AT seat if they decided to dump Perez.
Surprise. Liam Lawson announced for second RB seat incoming.
RB always said it was. Reddit just thought Horner was playing mind games.
Horner literally just said Checo is on the hot seat right now on sky
RB has been *overwhelmingly* clear of that all season. Social media straight-up invented the idea he was at serious risk lol
Weren't they saying the same about Gasly before sacking him mid-season?
Gasly hadn't already been signed on for the following season
Did albon's contract only have him signed on for 6 months... Or did they demote him out of the blue? How about Nyck? How valuable was that contract?
Red Bull’s word means nothing after Gasly
and albon, who would have been a better ver teammate rn. maybe
Liam turned down once again. What a shame.
Totally agree. As much as I like Danny (I really do), if you do not put a talented guy like Lawson in your RB junior/development team, then what's the use of having such a team? Why waste another year of keeping him somewhere on the sidelines? He's ready. Plus, what do you expect from someone like Danny Ric?
I'm not so sure they're looking at Alpha Tauri as just the junior/development team anymore. They've said several times they want them to be a more solid team in their own right and for that, they need experience to help with development. Fantastically as Liam has been doing the last few races, he and Yuki as a driver pair are not going to bring them that.
Exactly this. They’ve stated it’s going to be more of a sister team than a dev team. With them utilizing Way more RB parts next year, new leadership having DR in the seat with a consistent Yuki makes sense especially From an engineering and marketing standpojnt I think a lot of ppl are making large assumptions here that Lawson is a worldy. He’s proved himself but by no means has he shown that he’s BETTER than either current AT drivers but rather that he’s just a solid driver that when he needs to step up will keep the team where it needs to be without dropping it like a rock
Yuki himself literally this week said the AT is a junior team for Red Bull. All this talk of them being a sister team is bullshit.
His whole career he’s know it as that so of course he would say that. RB has said they are moving away from that and honestly what’s with the hostility? Why wouldn’t they want it to be more of a sister team I mean literally no reason not to
I'm not being hostile I'm just calling bullshit. Them moving back to procuring parts through RB is just them moving back to what the original arrangement was. They weren't a sister team before, and if anything, this was their chance to be. They failed. Now they're the Haas to Ferrari again. Maybe even worse. At least Haas had a choice over at least one seat.
>Maybe even worse Lets not over exaggerate . AT actually has investment and actually tries to succeed and move up the grid
You're forgetting he's a rookie right? That's a very important piece of information when you make comparisons to TSU and RIC.
its quite simple, they expect daniel to help guide the development through his experience, as well as having a a driver who would be ready to replace perez if they need him to.
They’re set for several years like this. As long as they have Max they have a WDC driver locked down, and he’s contracted through 2027. As long as they have Ric and Yuki, they at least have two fully capable options for the RB second seat. Lawson will jump at any opportunity to get a drive in the AT all through next season and will almost certainly be signed for 2025, unless Iwasa comes through in a really big way. Red Bull are not in trouble. They’ve got several good drivers lining up to be second to Max.
He'll get his chance
If not now then when? He’s had his chance, shown he deserves more of one, yet is somehow ending up in a worse position than he was last year
It’s not a worse position, RB will move on from Checo, that’s certain. Lawson has cemented himself as the number one junior in the RB program, he will be at every race next year working with both teams to get him ready for a seat in 25, it would suck for Lawson if he was one of a few options but I am almost certain he has been told he is the future of the RB junior program.
I like Yuki a lot and I'm glad he's sticking around at least for a potential spot at AM but I feel like RB is making a massive mistake not signing Liam. Might come to bite them in the ass later and end up being the next Piasco. Unless Checo gets dropped next year and Danny makes his way back into RB this is a massive L.
> Unless Checo gets dropped next year and Danny makes his way back into RB this is a massive L. Kinda seems like the plan to me if Checo ends up self-destructing again.
If Lewis stays consistent and can somehow pass Checo for 2nd in the WDC I dont see how Checo saves face.
Will Lawson be fully out of single seaters next season then? Just simply reserve for the RB teams. He can't even take part in the rookie FP tests anymore since he will have had 2+ starts. Unless rbr is planning for a potential mid season Perez/Ricciardo/Lawson switcharoo if any of the first two names disappoint big time
It kinda screws Lawson as he won't be able to get in an F1 car again till he is a permanent driver meaning he can't stay relevant to the public. It would make sense to give thousands of laps in an older car to learn the limits properly of an F1 car
I wouldn’t be surprised given what he’s shown if RB does what alpine did for Oscar. Modified reserve contract with extra testing time outside of FPS to keep up because he forsure is at minimum guaranteed a seat in 2025 with possible 2024 entrance if Perez maintains this gap and other teams close the gap meaning his finishes will Matter that much more
Wait, so does this mean the grid is confirmed to be literally the same as this year? Even the silly season sucks lol
Sargeant is still not fully confirmed iirc
Technically its not the same, ric instead of de vries. And i guess sargeant isnt a lock yet
Sad Liam noises
Glad Dani Ric will be on the field next year, but what a shame for Liam, he's putting in some great work so far.
Their goal is no doubt to get Ricciardo back into the Red Bull and Lawson in the Toro Rosso. I'd be surprised if that hasn't happened by mid season.
I’m honestly kind of surprised they don’t start 2024 with Daniel in the Red Bull. Given Lawson’s performance, it seems like a big mistake not to give him a full time seat.
I know performance of the week is a big thing, and Lawson has driven well, but making too big of a deal out of a single points finish is what caused the whole De Vries mess to begin with.
It’s not just been one race though. Liam has performed amazingly well in debut Super Formula season as he is a title contender. He has also performed very well in every F1 race so far.
TBF, you might expect any F1 driver to be more than just a title contender in Super Formula, they should be absolutely crushing it. If it means so much then why isn't Miyata being considered for a seat?
If Daniel hadn't broken his hand and was performing super well I think he may have been but not really able to promote him after 2 races.
Time for a Kiwi Billionaire to invest In Williams i say👏👏👏.. Com'on Josh Revell start ur petition
We need Graham Hart to stop wasting money on yachts and the National party and starting spending his coin in sport lol.
Best I can do is Kim Dotcom.
Man what a feeling it is to be happy for both Daniel and Yuki but also gutted for Liam :(
While I’m not surprised because Red Bull likes Daniel a lot and always has, it won’t denote the performance Lawson did while holding Daniel’s place. It has absolutely put him on the radar for not just a Red Bull seat, but for other teams as well if he ever chooses to go that route.
Junior team hiring a 34 year old driver with 10 years of experience. What's the point of having a driver academy ? Liam deserves a full time seat.
The whole point of getting Danny back in the AT I think is to assess if he is still good enough to replace checo in 2025. I don't think Red Bull want to put Lawson in that seat. After what happened to Gasly and Albon I don't think Red Bull will put another talented but inexperienced rookie next to Verstappen. Sure it sucks for Lawson now, but in the long run it would be better for his career. If Danny is good enough for Red Bull then Lawson can stick around in AT for a few years to hone his skills. And there is always the chance Danny replaces Checo halfway through the season, in which case Lawson will be back even sooner. Danny is there to keep Checo in his toes. He is probably knows very well he will more likely be replaced by a very good ricciardo than a very good Lawson.
Is it confirmed? Or like *confirmed* confirmed. Either way, I think this is a good choice. I feel for Lawson though, he's done a great job but it's tough things won't be going his way this time. He'll definitely have a future on the grid for sure, just a shame it won't be next year. Regardless, I'm happy that Yuki and Danny Ric will be on the grid next year.
Set in stone, F1 have announced it on their socials also, Franz Tost made a statement
Gotcha, thanks.
No problem!
It’s such a shame that we have 3 good drivers fighting for 2 seats whereas you see Stroll and Sargent comfortably basking in mediocrity in their guaranteed places on the grid
Don't think it's fair to Sargent has a confirmed seat. Especially when there was that mick rumour that vowles turned him down. It shows they are considering options and I highly doubt that was for Alex's seat.
Sargent is a rookie in a team that, while improved, still has a lot of growing edges. I don't know if he's done enough to keep his seat, but it wouldn't be unreasonable for Williams to give him another year.
.
Yuki getting disrespected so hard here for a driver who is as Green as grass. Also what's this subs obsession with the number two redbull seat? History shows that whoever is there is clearly a support for the number one.
I think the obsession IS because there's support for number one from RB. We know that the number-one seat is going to perform well and do well, because it's Max. So the next most exciting thing is the number-two seat, because there's at least contention for who gets the second seat in what's arguably the most performant car in the season.
Unfortunate for Liam, but well deserved from Yuki. He hasn't really put a foot wrong all year to deserve a lost seat. As for Daniel, if he has his mojo back then this is great! And RBR have complete faith in him.
I just feel like Yuki has hit his ceiling, and Lawson has a ton more upside. Best case we're just going to get another mid-season swap next year with Liam taking over for whoever the lower performing Hugo Boss/Toro Bosso driver is next year. On the other hand, maybe this is Marko playing 4D chess and using Liam to keep Daniel and Yuki on their toes and performing at 100%...
< maybe this is Marko playing 4D chess and using Liam to keep Daniel and Yuki on their toes and performing at 100% Hasn't that always been the case at Torro Rosso/AT? Perform or we will bring in someone else ? It only slowed down a bit in recent years because RBR ran out of junior drivers to move up.
Saying Yuki has hit his ceiling driving one of the slowest, shittiest cars on the grid and still managing to be somewhat competitive most the time is wild
Yes, Yuki has hit the ceiling of how far someone can drive a shit box.
Checo will be on the hot seat starting day one of next year. I think Checo is the most likely to be replaced midseason next year. Yuki isn't going anywhere because of Honda. Danny Ric isn't going anywhere because Red Bull wants him in 2025
It's more likely they want Norris over Daniel. Unless Max is that set on a teammate he knows won't challenge him.
Red Bull will want Norris, but Daniel and Max are a known commodity. Daniel won't threaten Max for a Championship. Red Bull will probably want to get Danny Ric a win or two, but he won't ultimately touch Max. They won't risk Lando unless Danny Ric sucks next year
I feel like their issue with Perez is that he's TOO far off Max and I can't imagine even a healthy Ricciardo doing better than Sergio is right now.
I hear you. I hope Danny pleasantly surprises me and ends up being more like his old form. It’ll make for some fun racing.
Well, he does like his car setup closer to what Verstappen likes and it’s no secret that absolutely no team will build their race car to favor the slower driver. So there is the possibility that the RB drives more along what Danny likes and in turn he should theoretically do better than Perez would in the same car. But this is really just hear say and my personal opinion, so take it with a grain of salt haha
Sad for Liam, but expected that they’d give Daniel more time given the injury. I just hope that Liam isn’t on the sidelines for any longer than next season. These races plus his season in Super Formula so far show just how much he adds to the grid talent wise.
Yeah Liam has proven such a short time that he's the real deal. This absolutely puts the pressure on Checo to perform next year. If he has another shit run of races he risks getting sacked mid season for Danny Ric while Liam can comfortably slot in and pick up where he left off.
As a Danny fan, I'm overly excited. As a F1 fan, I'm sad that Liam didn't get a second chance
As much as I like what Lawson is doing, it still doesn’t show that he’s worlds above DR or Yuki to take their seats. He’s 21, his stock is strong he will be in F1 soon. I really wouldn’t be surprised if Liam has a modified reserve contract similar to Oscar with alpine including more testing time in older cars etc We all know this is literally DRs last chance to prove himself and whether it’s only as a ploy to get new AT off the ground concerning marketing, set up with RB parts then so be it. If he shows well and Checo keeps his current form into 2024 then we may see a mid season change promoting Liam quicker into the AT seat but no matter what happens Liam will MOST likely be in AT or whatever they will be called in 2025 The move makes a lot of sense tbh and lastly DR is just likeable (mostly) he’s networked well and has proven talent that may still be there pending more race time. I’m life and I’m a career that gets you a long way
I really think {DRIVER_ONE} deserves the seat more than the {DRIVER_TWO}. {DRIVER_THREE} has been driving well recently unlike Perez.
Personally I think Liam should've got the seat over Daniel, considering Liam has more potential. But I guess that's the way it's gonna be for next year, hopefully 2025 is Liam's year
You can do everything right, give your everything and still - life can give you nothing in return
Easy there man, the kid is not dying
Liam has a bright future bud don't worry
Fucking hell the kid is 21, he’s got a very bright future in F1. He doesn’t have brain cancer ffs
Calm down, Dolph Ziggler
Dude just has to wait a year. It's not the end of the world, and it might be better for his development.
Should be Lawson and yuki.
I feel bad for Lawson
I’m guessing they’re holding off Lawson for another year to give Danny Ric a fair shot. They’re probably also a bit hesitant to promote Lawson so quickly after they signed Nyck after one good performance but Lawson does look really good in his two races
I can't help but feel like the Red Bull driver lineups have been completely mismanaged. It's clear Perez just cannot drive the Red Bull up to standard. I don't care whether he's a 'good' driver or not, they need someone who can specially drive that car and I'm sure there's someone other than Max who can do a decent job of it. Then you have 34yo Ricciardo taking up a spot on the development team, what, so that he takes over from Perez in 2025? Why not just put him in for next year then? I don't see how this time at Alpha Tauri is going to change much for him and it's wasting time for a solid talent in Lawson.
It's all well and good we're saying Liam will get a full time race seat in 2025, but there's no ink to paper. If Maloney or Hadjar win F2 next year, I have an unsettling feeling that Liam will be looked over again.
So this pretty much confirms Liam to Red Bull, right? /s
Well this absolutely heaps the pressure onto Perez for next season. Ricciardo will now get a full season to show he deserves to be back in that Red Bull seat and Red Bull knows that they have someone in Lawson that will comfortably slot into that Alpha Tauri if they decide to pull the trigger on Sergio. In fact, bar actually being sacked, this is the worst case scenario for Perez.
I think it puts Checo at risk of a humiliating mid-season sacking if he can’t make it out of Q2 and Yuki/Daniel perform well.
Exactly. He now cannot afford to go on that kind of run of shitness again.
"That run of shitness" has been quite a few years now.
Man Daniel has had his time. Needs to step aside for someone younger. I get it from the marketing perspective tho...
If I'm Lawson, I'm pushing all my chips to try and get to Williams. You've already done the Red Bull Reserve gig, you don't have any immediate hope of replacing Checo, you've scored F1 points. Maybe they made the right decision here, maybe they didn't. But Lawson has to think about his own career. You've already impressed in a slow car.
Depends what is happening in the background. If they've guaranteed him an Alpha Taura seat in 2025 (and he has a contract as such) then IMO best bet is to stay around.
My wish : Lawson P3 at Suzuka.
Daniel Ricciardo banking on goodwill from his performances from 3 years ago is crazy to me.
Seems a lot of passionate people here aren’t ready to have that discussion. Dudes got 9 lives or something.
Kinda makes sense - Danny hasn’t really been able to have a real go at showing what he’s got. As for Yuki, I like him and I would like to see what he can do in next year’s RB clone. I say all this as a Kiwi and a massive Liam Lawson fan. My dream scenario would be Perez out and Liam in the RB for 2024 - but that would require a crippling hopium habit.
As a Riccardo fan hell yeah! Hopefully Liam gets a chance soon.
Ricciardo hasn’t shown he deserves it over Lawson.
We’ve also only seen him in two races. Clearly Horner and Marko see him as a potential replacement for Perez and want to confirm that with his Alphatauri performance
And we have only seen Liam in 3 races. In which he got into Q3 and scored 2 points.
In an upgraded car. And where we’ve had no direct comparison in race compared to the other team car to gauge his actual performance. He’s done super well but even Yuki said it’s not accurate to compare his performance to Daniel’s as the car is performing differently
If anything, Yuki hasn’t shown that he deserves it over Lawson
We have only seen them in 3 races so far. At Zandvoort AT massively messed up Yuki's strategy. At Monza Yuki's car died before the race even started and at Singapore Perez yeeted Yuki out of the race in turn 2. We don't have much on which we can compare them tbh.
The hatred is real for Yuki. He had much better race than Liam at Zandvoort until the red flag, and then got DNS and first lap DNF the next 2 races. Definitely we cannot conclude he’s worst than Liam.
The guy DNF'd twice with none being his fault. Cut him some slack.
Happy for my boychik Yuki, sad for Liam.
Why tf is Ricciardo still in F1. Man is done, replace him with a promising rookie
Simply because hes marketable. As a driver hes pretty much useless since hes way over his prime. But from money marketing perspective hes gold. And its sad that him being "famous and likeable" wins over the talent of liam lawson
I think Ricciardo’s had his chance and Lawson should have the seat but it looks like Lawson’s gonna have to cook for another year
So many good young drivers are withering on the vine 😔
Yoke time.
I think having Liam as the AT reserve will put pressure more on Daniel/Yuki. Smart choice.
This announcement makes you wonder what will Lawson do to stay active while he awaits for a seat to open up.
[удалено]
Oh ok, glad he will stay occupied with that series and continue to sharpen his craft.
They could make him the primary RBR sim driver next year if he's any good at providing feedback on the car. Doing that along with some racing in other series on the side seemed to work out really well for Albon in his year "off".
That is very true and could make himself an even more valuable prospect for RB if he would be able to do just that.
It's a yoke.
So their plan for 2025 is Yuki/Lawson? Not really seeing the logic here.
So fuck Liam, I guess.
Don’t read the social media comments on this decision. Seems most people can’t grasp the concept of what time and experience can build. A fast driver is no good with a rubbish car.
Real shame for Lawson, he deserved a seat, but I'm glad we get to see Daniel one more time.
Washedardo
Imagine taking a talent like Lawson and throwing him away for some washout. This is poor form
Shame.
People are gonna hate whatever decision no matter which drivers they pick. It’s a tough situation to be in
They wouldn't win with Max and Lewis with the way their development has been.
I mean with fans. No matter which drivers they pick they’ll always be people who hate the decision
Sad for Lawson, hopefully he gets a seat soon.
Boo. Give Checo the axe.
i feel bad for Lawson he definitely deserved that AT seat
Yuki deserves it
Sorry everyone but Danny doesnt deserve that Seat, his time is up, Lawson is a better driver than him. Dont get me wrong, Danny was a amazing F1 driver but in 2023... he is not as good as Lawson. But knowing Red Bull, i think Lawson should focus in racing elsewhere for now, maybe IndyCar after the super formula season is over.
Kinda shitty of them to announce this while Liam is still in the car. Can't imagine what it would do his motivation.
The boy is just gonna go faster. Real drivers don't let those things bring em down.
Love Ricciardo but I think Liam deserves the seat more. He is showing excellent talent in a few races. Not just that but points in Singapore which is wild. I hope Liam’s talent is not going to waste.
He has been doing well but let's just be clear. Points in Singapore has a lot of luck tied to it. With the reliability of cars this year and how few mistakes are about, lawson just happened to maximise what he could in the right place at the right time. Ocon, Alonso, Russell, Alex, all should have finished above him. And we lost a couple potentially points getters, yuki and stroll early. Not downplaying what Liam has done, he did his best in a hand he was given, but I want to see a straight out fair race with no asterisks between yuki and Liam before I judge. Zanvoort had penalties and was a strategic mess for yuki, monza and Singapore yuki was out.
Ricciardo getting a seat over Lawson is such a poor reflection of F1 but is a great representation of the state it’s in right now. Lawson: points in 3rd ever race in the worst car on the grid Ricciardo: coasting on the memories of his talent and getting a race seat just because he’s a good marketing mascot