Bad news for Ricciardo: Marko hopes Lawson gets a chance in 2024

Helmut Marko does not have a good message for Daniel Ricciardo. The man in charge of the Red Bull teams' drivers does not see the Australian performing as well as expected and would love it if Liam Lawson gets his chance to show something in an F1 car this year.

Yuki Tsunoda is having a good start to the season. The Japanese driver finished ahead of his teammate in every qualifying session and race except for the Bahrain Grand Prix, when he had to allow Ricciardo through due to a team order. Marko is also very happy with his pupil's performance.

"Yuki had a good start to the season and is no longer as much of a hothead as he was. There have only been four races, so I can't say much yet, but he has Daniel under his thumb, even though it was close in Japan," said Marko in conversation with the Kleine Zeitung.

Will Lawson get the chance from Red Bull?

Prior to the F1 season, more was expected from Ricciardo. After all, he wanted to use Visa Cash App RB as a stepping stone for a return to Red Bull Racing. For now, that is not going to happen. "The brief for him was clear that he had to be faster than Yuki if he wanted to have any chance of that Red Bull seat. That hasn't been the case at the moment. Let's see how that develops."

Behind the scenes, Liam Lawson is already warming up. Earlier, there were rumours that Lawson might get the seat as early as 2024 if Ricciardo does not improve his performance. Marko does not confirm that Ricciardo has been given an ultimatum but does state that he would love to see Lawson in the car.

"With Liam Lawson as a reserve driver, we have a strong driver who may drive for another team if he does not get a seat with us in 2025. Therefore, it would be very interesting for us to see him in F1 this year and get an even clearer picture, but it is a complex issue, and we have to see how it all develops."