Ex-Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle believes Liam Lawson‘s spell in the RB car until the end of the 2024 season could even be an audition for the senior Red Bull team.
The news broke on Wednesday that Singapore marked Daniel Ricciardo‘s final race for RB, with Lawson to come in from the next race in the United States next month.
READ MORE: Liam Lawson to replace Daniel Ricciardo at RB for remainder of F1 2024
Lawson has revealed that his promotion covers the remaining six rounds this season, which he will strive to use to land a permanent place on the F1 grid next season.
Brundle suspects, though, that Lawson’s debut could be part of a wider scheme at Red Bull in 2025 amid the reigning champion’s persistent second-driver conundrum.
Writing in his Sky Sports column, Brundle has touted that Red Bull’s continued concern over Sergio Perez’s performance is the driving force behind the sudden switch.
‘Liam Lawson will take over his RB from Austin and it’s his chance to prove he should be on the 2025 grid in either of the two Red Bull teams,” Brundle wrote.
“That’s because he feels keeping Perez at Red Bull could cost the team dearly next season.
“Sergio Perez would bring the second Red Bull home in 10th from 13th on the grid for yet another disappointing event. This is a real problem for Red Bull going into 2025.”
Horner confirms ‘difficult decisions’ ahead
Meanwhile, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner would be drawn on the speculation last weekend prior to the announcement that Ricciardo was being ousted.
But he raised the point that Red Bull was eager to assess Lawson’s credentials, supporting Brundle’s theory that he could be seen as a possible Perez replacement.
“I’m not going to go into the ins and outs of drivers contracts”, Horner told Sky Sports F1. “There’s privacy between the company and the individuals.”
“But, Liam, the job that he did for us last year in the VCARB car [when he made five appearances] was very impressive.
“Now, we took experience over that, because Daniel was our banker for if Sergio were to drop the ball, and Daniel’s had a reasonable season, but it hasn’t been a stellar year.
“Now, the question is, how good is Liam? And you know, sometimes, difficult decisions have to be made in order to get those answers.
“Now, we’ll sit down with all of those options available to us during this next three-week gap.”
READ MORE: Liam Lawson reveals when he was told he would replace Daniel Ricciardo at RB
