F1, official: Daniel Ricciardo out of Racing Bulls, Liam Lawson in from Austin

Ricciardo-Lawson, there is the announcement

After weeks of speculation and rumors, the news is now official: Daniel Ricciardo leaves Racing Bulls with immediate effect. The Australian driver, who during the post-race interviews was also moved when thinking back to his career in the GP paddock, will therefore not be on the starting grid for the next United States GP, scheduled for the Austin circuit on the weekend of October 20. In his place, Red Bull has announced the promotion of third driver Liam Lawson.

Ricciardo’s disappointment

Ricciardo’s exclusion from the grid effectively represents a forced retirement from Formula 1, given that his performances on the track since his return midway through the 2023 championship – with a five-race break due to the wrist injury sustained in free practice for the Dutch GP – have not been irresistible. Ricciardo collected 6 points in the last championship and stands at 12 in the current one for a total of 18 points in 25 GPs contested: less than half of the 37 brought home by Yuki Tsunoda with the same car during the time the two were teammates.

If Daniel has already declared that he is not available for the role of third Red Bull driver, it’s even difficult to imagine a restart from another team: the only other team that still has a seat available is in fact Audi-Sauber, which should confirm Valtteri Bottas for 2025 or, at the very least, focus on a youngster like Gabriel Bortoleto or Franco Colapinto.

Liam Lawson Arrives

In place of Ricciardo, the arrival of Liam Lawson, who for weeks had been considered the only candidate to replace the 35-year-old AustralianFor the 2002-born New Zealander, who had already made his F1 debut last year to replace the injured Ricciardo, it will therefore be a second debut (this time as a starter).

In recent weeks it has been said several times that Lawson, who is one of Helmut Marko’s favourites despite an unenthusiastic career in the youth categories, had the possibility of activating a clause in his contract with Red Bull to to part ways with the team if he did not secure promotion to F1 by the end of September 2024. It is currently confirmed that the 22-year-old will finish the season at Racing Bulls, but it is very likely that the promotion will also apply to the 2025 season.