- Daniel Ricciardo reportedly has two races to save his career
- The Australian has started the new F1 season slowly
- Liam Lawson is reportedly in line to replace him
Daniel Ricciardo has been given two races to save his Formula 1 career, a new report claims.
According to the NZ Herald, Red Bull chief Helmut Marko is lining up Kiwi driver Liam Lawson to replace Ricciardo if he fails to achieve positive results at the next two Grand Prix in Japan and China.
Lawson was driving Ricciardo’s AlphaTauri when he broke his wrist last year and gave a powerful account of himself, leading to calls for the youngster to take the seat full-time.
As it was, Red Bull remained confident in Ricciardo to drive their junior team, with the Australian hoping to put together a strong pitch to eventually replace Sergio Perez with the world champion.
But a series of disappointing performances in which he was outscored by teammate Yuki Tsunoda has increased the pressure on the fan favorite.
Daniel Ricciardo reportedly has two races to save his Formula 1 career
The Australian has had a bad start to the new Formula 1 season
The New Zealand outlet claims: ‘Should Ricciardo fail to improve at the next two Grands Prix in Japan and China respectively, Red Bull will make a swap that will likely see Lawson in the Racing Bulls (RB) seat for Miami will be installed and will remain with the team for the foreseeable future. the rest of the season.’
The report adds that Lawson is also seen as the best long-term replacement for Perez at Red Bull, meaning he would partner Max Verstappen from 2025.
Speaking ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, Marko said Ricciardo was ‘too slow’ and had to ‘come up with something quickly’.
He qualified P18 at Albert Park and finished the race P12, while Tsunoda finished in the points.
“I felt like I wanted to put aside the frustration for today,” Ricciardo said after the race. “I kind of knew what was done and tried to make the most of today.
‘It’s nice that there were moments in the race where I had some speed and was able to show: ‘Okay, I can still do some good stints there’. It was still good to get the laps.”
He finished 13th in Bahrain and 16th in Jeddah but insists he has not lost faith in his ability to rediscover his mojo.
New Zealander Liam Lawson is reportedly in line to replace him
Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has identified Lawson as a future star
“I absolutely believe I can do it,” he said. ‘I wouldn’t say there is panic. I would have liked this season to have started better, but we’ll keep digging.”
He added: “It’s not like we changed everything and suddenly this car suits Yuki (Tsunoda) and not me. I certainly don’t feel like it’s anything like that.
‘I think we’ll find something. I thought it would be this weekend. Maybe it’s the next one, and if it’s not the next one, 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 little encouragement never hurts.’