Red Bull sends painful message to Ricciardo and Lawson with Perez staying on
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The summer break has not yet arrived for Daniel Ricciardo, Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda. The trio will be in action at Imola. In reality, a day that seemed very important for the future of these drivers turns out to be nothing more than a formality. How the infamous 'shootout' ended up being a simple day of filming.
In recent months, Ricciardo's infamous filming day in Imola was eagerly awaited. According to various sources, this would be a serious test for the Australian. A test for a chance to win Sergio Perez's Red Bull Racing seat. That chance, with Perez staying on longer, seems to be gone for now.
On Monday, Christian Horner announced to all staff in Milton Keynes that Sergio Perez will "keep driving" at Red Bull Racing. The Mexican has a contract until 2025, but the leak of clauses in the contract and rumours of a shootout put some pressure on his position.
"Checo 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 revealed to the factory.
Not much later, Helmut Marko said something similar: "Perez staying. We want him to get his old form back. Ricciardo will also stay; nothing will change. But the cards for 2025 will be shuffled again.''
Why was Sergio Perez allowed to stay at Red Bull?
Helmut Marko and Christian Horner sat down on Monday. Sergio Perez's position was naturally on the agenda, but the meeting was not unusual. A day after the last race before the summer break, Red Bull's top men always hold consultations. After the meeting, they both came out with the same story.
Clearly, Marko and Horner are not 100% behind one good successor to Perez. Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson were the only options. Marko is a fan of Lawson, Horner of Ricciardo. Both do not seem to have convinced Red Bull's top brass that they will do better than Perez. Stories that the FOM would have interfered with Red Bull Racing's choice, given the revenues from the Mexican GP, are denied by Red Bull.
The fact Lawson is not considered good enough is also evident from the decisions to leave Daniel Ricciardo in place. The Australian is not yet rated good enough for Red Bull Racing, but also remains seated. Lawson has driven several tests for Red Bull, but apparently has not shown anything that would force Ricciardo to give up his seat.
Therefore, the situation for 2025 does not seem to be any different just yet. Horner and Marko made it clear that Perez and Ricciardo will keep their seats, but not for how long. Perez will get the chance to prove himself at circuits where he has previously performed well such as Baku and Singapore. But if he performs poorly there, will he get out? Probably not. If Ricciardo and Lawson are not deemed good enough now, why in four races?
For 2025, you can ask the same question. Yuki Tsunoda already has a spot at VCARB. His teammate is still unclear. Lawson will hope to finally get that chance, but in Formula 2, Isack Hadjar is also making a good impression. If he takes the Formula 2 title, which it now looks like he will, doesn't he deserve that seat?