Formula One: Liam Lawson continues to wait, Red Bull won’t change driver line-ups over summer break

New Zealand’s Liam Lawson will remain waiting for a fulltime Formula One opportunity, as Red Bull confirmed it will keep its driver line-up across two teams for the rest of the season intact.

Now, the Kiwi will do his bit to press for a seat in 2025, with a clause in his contract that will allow Lawson to leave Red Bull, should he not be guaranteed a drive by a certain date. The Herald understands that date is in September.

But while the door into the Red Bull senior team appears blocked for both Lawson and Australian Daniel Ricciardo, driving for Racing Bulls in 2025 is still up for grabs.

With the season now in its summer break, it was expected Red Bull’s decision-makers would instigate a reshuffle, given the dip in form of Mexican driver Sergio Perez.

This week, Lawson will be given an opportunity to impress Red Bull in a promotional day at Italy’s Imola circuit, and will be directly up against Ricciardo, currently contracted to sister outfit, Racing Bulls.

It was expected Ricciardo and Lawson would have the chance to put their hands up to partner Max Verstappen for the second half of the 2024 season, in direct competition with one another.

But on Tuesday (NZT), Red Bull team principal Christian Horner emphatically backed Perez to continue after the summer break.

Christian Horner, Sergio Perez and Liam Lawson at the Canadian Grand Prix. Photo / Getty Images

“[Perez] remains a Red Bull Racing driver despite recent speculation and we look forward to seeing him perform at tracks he has previously excelled at after the summer break,” Horner said.

While results may have deserted him, Perez remains incredibly valuable to Red Bull, due to his commercial appeal in Mexico, and by extension Latin America. Formula One heads to Mexico at the end of October, for the Mexican Grand Prix, with Perez’s place in the team to be vital for Red Bull during that week.

In the past, Red Bull parted ways early with Pierre Gasly (2019) and Alex Albon (2020), due to poor results, albeit if both of them performed better than Perez’s current run of form.

Sky Sport UK has since reported that any attempt by Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko to swap Perez out for another driver was blocked by Horner.

Following his re-signing earlier this year, Perez’s form has dramatically dipped, yielding just 28 points from his last eight races.

While Red Bull teammate Verstappen tops the drivers’ championship with 277 points, Perez sits seventh with only 131 points, in the same car.

What’s more, Red Bull’s gap in the constructors championship has been cut to just 42 points from McLaren in second place, with two drivers both consistently scoring points.

Perez’s new contract, which sees him retained for 2025 with an option for Red Bull to keep him in 2026, is widely understood to have a performance clause that means he can be terminated if he trails Verstappen by more than 100 points at the summer break.

However, as the team’s decision-makers met earlier this week, Red Bull have not only backed Perez to continue through after the break but also Ricciardo at Racing Bulls.

The news will come as a blow to Lawson, who has had to be patient in his wait for a fulltime drive after impressing in 2023.

At present, the second seat at Racing Bulls is yet to be filled, with only Yuki Tsunoda signed on for next season.

That second seat is now expected to go to one of Ricciardo, who has gone on record stating he is using the chance with Racing Bulls to try to win a place in the senior team, or Lawson – who is the reserve driver for both Red Bull teams.

Despite his place with Racing Bulls being secure until the end of 2025, Tsunoda does not appear to be in the frame for promotion to the senior team, given his links to Honda.

Honda is the current engine supplier for Red Bull’s two teams but will switch to supply Aston Martin in 2026.

Should Red Bull fail to secure Lawson’s future, though, other teams will have the opportunity to pounce.

Earlier this year, European media reported Audi, who will enter the Formula One grid in 2026 courtesy of acquiring current outfit Sauber, are interested in Lawson.

Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda at the Qatar Grand Prix, 2023. Photo / Getty Images

However, Lawson’s management has confirmed to the Herald there has been no approach from Audi.

The make-up of Racing Bulls has come under the microscope this season, as Red Bull looks to find the balance between a second side versus a development side to grow drivers to step into the senior team.

Marko, who oversees driver development, has been vocal about the need for Racing Bulls to be a development team and has backed Lawson to fill the seat currently occupied by Ricciardo.

Earlier this year, Marko twice spoke publicly about wanting Racing Bulls to be a junior side, with Lawson the outstanding candidate to step in.

“We will offer him something,” he told German outlet Bild. “A cockpit for next year.

“It is clear that the Racing Bulls are a junior team. That has been communicated internally and everyone has understood that.”

However, Ricciardo has the backing of Horner due to his commercial value to Red Bull as an organisation.

The Australian is arguably the most popular driver on the grid, given his central role in Netflix’s Drive to Survive documentary series.

That popularity is significant for Red Bull, and the Herald understands that Visa - the principal sponsor of Racing Bulls - is only with the team because of Ricciardo.

Given Ricciardo will turn 36 during the 2025 season, though, Lawson would appear the better suited of the two drivers, should Red Bull wish for Racing Bulls to be a junior team.

The Formula One season resumes on August 26 (NZT) with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort.

Alex Powell is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.