Is Liam Lawson the F1 driver Red Bull needs? Our writers debate

The New Zealander will return to an F1 cockpit in Austin in Ricciardo's place, but have Red Bull/RB made the correct decision?

Liam Lawson will race in the US Grand Prix next month after replacing Daniel Ricciardo at Red Bull's sister Formula 1 team RB.

It won't be the first time the Kiwi competes in F1 but, on this occasion, it's not just as a stand-in, and his arrival is seen as a test for Red Bull to find out if it has the right man for the future.

So is Lawson the driver Red Bull currently needs? Our writers debate. 

Only time will tell - Filip Cleeren

The honest but boring answer is that the proof will be in the pudding, but I think there are certain cues that should provide Red Bull with some optimism about how far Lawson can go.

Every single driver on the current Formula 1 grid can be fast on their day, but that is not what Red Bull is looking for. Daniel Ricciardo showed flashes of pace, and so does Sergio Perez, but neither has been consistent enough across the board. It cost Ricciardo his chance to replace Perez in the first place, but the Mexican may still lose his seat as well.

So, what Red Bull really needs is someone who can pair a natural turn of speed with the adaptability to drive around car handling limitations, and the ability to cope with the pressure of fighting for wins at the front against arguably the most difficult team-mate you could wish to have in Max Verstappen.

For promising talents at the start of their F1 careers that can be a poisoned chalice, just ask Alex Albon or Pierre Gasly, but we have seen indications that Lawson is up for the challenge.

Firstly, there is the way he jumped into Ricciardo's car at Zandvoort last year, from a wet Saturday practice onwards. He didn't set the world alight on that first weekend, nor could he have been expected to on such short notice, but he immediately showed the steel to deal with the occasion.

His five-race cameo then went crescendo with a commendable ninth-place finish on the tough streets of Singapore, which seems to be the weekend that really impressed Christian Horner and Helmut Marko the most. Then came an evaluation drive this summer at Monza with the 2022 AlphaTauri, which is understood to have been another high-pressure stress test that Lawson passed with flying colours.

Pair that with the patience and maturity the 22-year-old has shown since having to step back into a reserve role, and Lawson has done everything Red Bull has asked of him so far. He appears to have the ability and mindset to keep doing so, but he will have a tough challenge on his hands against the increasingly impressive Yuki Tsunoda, who has a big head start having been with the Anglo-Italian squad for four years.

Lawson going straight to Red Bull could’ve saved it all the Ricciardo angst - Alex Kalinauckas

Red Bull’s PR strategy is often such a curious thing. Everyone in the F1 paddock knew Singapore was going to be Ricciardo’s last race – just check out how many journalists had painstakingly selected pictures where you can see them in the background of shots of him as ways to say, ‘so long, good luck’.

While certainly a distraction to RB, which let’s not forget is engaged in a thrilling scrap with Haas for sixth in the constructors’ championship and so millions in prize money, it would’ve made more sense to have announced the swap with Lawson ahead of time and not go through the ridiculous ‘we don’t know until we do’ charade.

But there was an even better alternative for Red Bull. Clearly, Ricciardo blew his chance to earn a promotion back to the big team in place of Perez. But swapping Lawson in for Perez straightaway and keeping RB and its sponsors happy with Ricciardo is a far better solution than dropping the Australian.

Red Bull has done that now so it can make plans for promotion – along with surely an outside hire, such as George Russell or Oscar Piastri – or one of Lawson or Tsunoda for 2026 if Verstappen does indeed head off. Perez has no chance of being kept as team leader given his 2025 berth still isn’t certain. But were those five 2023 races where he outscored Tsunoda (although trailed him in qualifying) in place of the injured Ricciardo not enough for Red Bull to know if Lawson can cut it already?

It saw in enough in Nyck de Vries in one Williams race in 2022 to promote him for the following year with the then AlphaTauri squad. And perhaps it’s how badly that backfired that is keeping Red Bull cautious now. But, even if the impressively ice cool Lawson doesn’t match up with Verstappen straightaway ahead of 2026, at least Red Bull would find out earlier and it’d be no different to Perez’s continued underperformance.

It hasn’t really gained in doing what it’s done, it’s just jettisoned the wrong driver.