by VALERIO BARRETTA
RB, Lawson pushes to become starter
When Liam Lawson he replaced Daniel Ricciardo in five GPs in 2023, he certainly didn't regret it. After the #3's hand injury, the New Zealander immediately impressed with a 13th place in Zandvoort and an 11th in Monza, while in Singapore he surprised the whole world by excluding Max Verstappen from Q3 and obtaining the first points of his career.
Bayer's words
CEO RB Peter Bayer he is aware of Lawson's qualities and Ricciardo's difficulties. But is a hypothesis of a running exchange rate – like that of 2023 – really possible? Bayer did not go too far: “Liam is an excellent reserve driver. He's putting pressure on the two starters, so they don't get lazy. At the same time, we try to make him run as much as possible. We did a test in January in Imola and we want to do another“, these are his words to Speedcafe. “He is doing simulation sessions and is with us“.
“He is preparing and at the same time, by being ready and having shown what he is capable of, he keeps the pressure on Red Bull. It's an interesting situation, because we have a bit of pressure from below and the Red Bull attraction from above, it's something that I obviously accept and that creates some pressure on the drivers“.
A 2025 dedicated to young people?
Lawson is a talented driver who, like Oliver Bearman, is not in Formula 1 simply because there are only 20 seats available. 2025, however, could be the year of great opportunities: many contracts in fact expire at the end of 2024, and several teams are looking at the youth market. Williams, always very careful on this front, could field Andrea Kimi Antonelli should the Italian confirm on the track that he deserves the attention that concerns him, while Haas seems to be Oliver's natural destination Bearmana great protagonist in Jeddah.
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