The Spanish Grand Prix will make the 10 Formula 1 race weekend of the season and the beginning of a tough European triple header.
After racing at the Circuit de Catalunya, teams will head to Austria and then Silverstone with the Spanish Grand Prix traditionally where many teams bring a major upgrade due to its proximity to their team bases.
It’s also the beginning of the run-up to the summer break that all 10 teams will use to analyse their position in the pecking order and what they need to do in the short, medium and long term to succeed.
The summer break is also when teams have been known to make a change in the cockpit with the four-week gap giving a new driver the best opportunity to get to grips with their new car.
Last season, AlphaTauri pulled the trigger on their move to replace Nyck de Vries with Daniel Ricciardo two races before the break although given his previous F1 experience, it was less important to give him that run-in to get to grips with the car.
Journalist Rebecca Clancy was speaking about the Australian on the Inside The Piranha Club Podcast and believes he might be a victim of the same switch he benefitted from 12 months ago.
The £105,000-a-week driver is the only racer in the Red Bull stable that hasn’t been signed up for 2025 and knows that Liam Lawson is waiting in the wings to replace him.
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Journalist ‘not convinced’ Daniel Ricciardo will survive the 2024 F1 season
Many Formula 1 fans wouldn’t have expected to see Yuki Tsunoda leading the charge for Visa Cash App RB this season alongside Ricciardo.
The Japanese driver has been fantastic in his fourth season in Formula 1 and already earned a contract for 2025.
It leaves Ricciardo in a precarious position with Lawson understood to have an option in his contract that means he can leave the Red Bull pool if he hasn’t got a seat on the grid at RB next year.
The Kiwi was fantastic alongside Tsunoda during his five races last year while Ricciardo recovered from a hand injury.
Ricciardo doesn’t represent the future for Red Bull and is unlikely to ever fulfil his dream of returning to the parent team one day.
However, if he fails to repeat his strong drive in Canada over the next few races, there’s a chance that he won’t even complete the rest of the 2024 season.
Helmut Marko would love to put Liam Lawson in the car and Christian Horner will be under more and more pressure to make the switch unless he begins to match and beat Tsunoda.
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Daniel Ricciardo under pressure despite strong Canadian Grand Prix
Talking about the Australian’s future, Clancy said: “Let’s get through the European season which I personally think these tracks are far more of a test for these drivers and the cars.
“Call me old fashioned, but the more traditional tracks that we race at, we’ll see what happens.
“I’m still not convinced that Daniel Ricciardo will see out the season.
“And I know he’s Christian Horner’s driver, I don’t think Helmut Marko actually wanted him in the car, he wanted Liam Lawson and I feel like there were a couple of comments over the weekend from Christian Horner not quite as supportive as we’ve previously seen him of Danny Ric.
“And I think it does start to beg the question, how long can you leave Liam Lawson out for?”
What does Liam Lawson’s Formula 1 future look like?
Liam Lawson’s best chance of getting onto the Formula 1 grid is for Red Bull to decide to part ways with Daniel Ricciardo and they’ll be in no real rush at this stage to make that call.
Even with teams exploring other options elsewhere in the paddock, a couple of teams have already ruled out making a move for Lawson.
Despite impressing last season when given his chance, Lawson’s F1 experience is extremely limited compared to some of the other options available.
Other manufacturers may also decide to look within their own academies rather than take a punt on Lawson.
He’s in a precarious position and it feels like things could go either way, but his fate is ultimately in the hands of one of the sport’s most experienced drivers.
The post ‘Not quite as supportive’: Journalist ‘not convinced’ £105k-a-week driver will see out the 2024 F1 season appeared first on F1 Oversteer.