Fresh doubt has been cast over Daniel Ricciardo’s future in Formula 1 after Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko declared RB will look to install New Zealand driver Liam Lawson “soon”.
Reserve driver Lawson, 22, was brought in as Ricciardo’s replacement last year due to injury.
It’s understood Lawson has been promised a spot on the 2025 grid by Red Bull as Ricciardo lines up for his 250th F1 start at this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix.
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The Aussie still does not have a deal for next year as he’s watched other stars in the Red Bull stable offered contracts to remain.
Team RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Red Bull Racing’s Sergio Pérez inked new agreements this month, while Max Verstappen is contracted until 2028.
Now Marko, speaking to Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung, has given the clearest indication yet that Team RB will look to younger drivers next year, with getting Lawson into one of Red Bull’s own seats a strong priority for the team’s owners.
“The shareholders have made it known that [RB] is a junior team and we have to act accordingly,” Marko said.
“The goal was that [Ricciardo] would be considered for Red Bull Racing with exceptional performances,” he added. “That seat now belongs to Sergio Pérez, so that plan is no longer valid.
“We have to put a young driver in there soon. That would be Liam Lawson.”
Ricciardo made no secret of his ambitions of trying to secure Red Bull’s No.2 driver spot occupied by Perez for 2025, but consistency on the track has been his biggest problem.
He impressed in in Shanghai and Miami but has failed to dominate younger teammate Tsunoda, with the Japan driver having the wood over the West Australian in qualifying and on race day.
Marko’s comments come after reports Lawson could be signed by Audi, in their attempt to find a teammate for Nico Hülkenberg if they miss out on Carlos Sainz’s signature.
Marko’s comments can be viewed as a shift at Red Bull following the texting scandal that has engulfed team principal Christian Horner.
Horner paved the way for Ricciardo’s return to the team and has not criticised his performances publicly this season.
“Over the summer break we’ll sit down and start to look at it,” Horner said of the final RB seat, per Formu1a.uno.
“The more races we have, the more information, the more data we have, so we don’t need to be in a rush.”