Marko confirms: Not Ricciardo, but Lawson would have replaced Perez

Liam Lawson would indeed have been Sergio Perez's replacement. Helmut Marko confirmed this in Austria. Although Daniel Ricciardo seemed the most logical name, he could not be in action this weekend.

On Thursday, Perez cancelled due to illness. According to Marko, the Mexican had caught a cold and was better off recovering from it. Due to his absence, the big question on Thursday was who would replace Perez. GPblog managed to report at the time that Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson would most likely be the one in action.

Lawson as Perez's replacement

This was confirmed by Marko to Auto, Motor und Sport on Friday morning. According to Red Bull Racing's top man, the New Zealander would have taken Perez's spot simply because Ricciardo is also absent in Austria. Lawson is listed as a reserve at Red Bull and is himself competing in Japanese Super Formula. However, there is no race there this weekend and so Lawson is present in the F1 paddock.

Unfortunately for Lawson, it did not come to that, as Perez simply reported back to the track on Friday. Red Bull Racing assumes that Max Verstappen's teammate will be in action during the first free practice session and later on Friday also during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.