Liam Lawson’s Surprise Contract Clause Threatens Daniel Ricciardo’s RB Seat

Daniel Ricciardo, who should’ve been RB’s star in 2024, has unfortunately become a shooting star, but not one that people will fondly remember. After 5 race weekends, the Honey Badger remains points-less in the championship. Liam Lawson, who is predicted to replace the struggling Ricciardo by summer break could get his break, even earlier. A new addition to this drama is Lawson’s surprise contract clause, revealed by F1 Journalist Joe Saward.

Everybody knows how ruthless Red Bull is when it comes to underperforming drivers. Sergio Perez, the ‘Second Driver’ on the main team, rarely gets a moment of peace. Helmut Marko won’t even give the Mexican a contract lasting more than 1 year. This is happening to a driver who is 2nd in the drivers’ championship. What will happen to Daniel Ricciardo, who has been relegated to being the second driver to Yuki Tsunoda in the junior RB team?

When the 2024 F1 season began, Liam Lawson outrightly stated that he would explore contracts with Red Bull’s rivals in 2025 if the Milton Keynes outfit doesn’t give him a permanent seat. Turns out, Christian Horner & Co. cannot even stop him from doing so, as his contract protects him. “The thing about Lawson is that his Red Bull contract stipulates that he must be given a race drive in 2025 or he can walk away to a rival team“, Saward revealed on his blog.

This massively increases the pressure on Ricciardo. Lawson is a proven performer for Red Bull, after his successful 5-race AlphaTauri stint last year. And Yuki Tsunoda has out-qualified Ricciardo 4 out of 5 times this year. Christian Horner is more likely to give the 22-year-old Kiwi a seat alongside Tsunoda than wait more for Ricciardo to improve.

Christian Horner pressurizes Daniel Ricciardo to end his poor run

Ahead of the Chinese GP, Ricciardo’s VCARB 01 was equipped with a new chassis. It could’ve been a placebo to get his confidence back, but it worked anyway. The 34-year-old Aussie finally out-qualified teammate Tsunoda after 4 race weekends. Ahead of the weekend, Christian Horner had even warned Ricciardo, which elevated the stakes.

“Well look, I think it’s really in Daniel’s hands and he needs to get his season going,” the Red Bull boss told Sky Sports. “He’s had a tough start to the year, but he needs to turn it around, and no better place than here on a sprint race weekend so, you know, he knows that, he’s a big boy, he knows the pressures that are involved in F1 and, obviously, within the Red Bull team.”

Unfortunately, the Aussie couldn’t take any points in China, like the previous 4 race weekends. Bad luck prevailed as Lance Stroll crashed into him, ending his race. As per Le Mans winner Richard Bradley, Ricciardo might be axed after the Miami GP, making way for Lawson. An 8-time Grand Prix winner is fighting for a seat against a rookie. Times indeed change quickly in F1.