Last year, we saw a lot of driver changes concerning the AlphaTauri team – now known as VCARB or RB. We first had Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tsunonda, and then Daniel Ricciardo and Tsunoda, and when Ricciardo injured his hand at Zandvoort, Liam Lawson answered the call to replace him.
During his short stint with AlphaTauri, Lawson proved to be a very capable F1 driver. He impressed several fans and members in the paddock with his performance in Singapore where he outqualified Max Verstappen in the Red Bull. When Daniel returned to F1 after healing from his injury, Lawson had to make way. But since then, fans have been eagerly waiting to see when Lawson will return to F1.
But now with Perez’s performance clause in the light, Lawson has been given the same opportunity Daniel was given last year.
Liam Lawson to test the RB20 at Silverstone after the British GP
After the British Grand Prix, Liam Lawson will be taking on the RB20 on a test drive around the famous Silverstone Circuit. If Lawson impresses the team with this outing, he could be in line to replace Perez at Red Bull or Daniel Ricciardo at VCARB.
Although Sergio Perez just signed a contract extension with Red Bull until the end of the 2026 season, there are some strict performance clauses in his contract. The clauses state that Perez has to stay within 100 points of Max Verstappen at after the Belgian Grand Prix. The other clause states that Perez cannot drop 5 positions behind Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship.
🚨 | BREAKING: Details on Sergio Perez’s performance clauses have been revealed. 😬
– He has to stay within 100 points of Max after the Belgian Grand Prix
– He cannot drop more than 5 places behind Max in the points table. #F1 #Formula1 https://t.co/oxpgtmcc9h
— Motorsport Hour (@MotorsportHour) July 7, 2024
As it stands, Perez is already 119 points behind Max in the points table (before the British GP), and he is 4 places behind Max in the points table. However, Oscar Piastri is just 6 points behind Perez and George Russell is 7 points behind Perez. There is a good chance that Perez will be 6 places behind Max after the British GP.
The Belgian GP is scheduled to take place on 28th July. This will be followed by the summer break. If Perez is not able to meet the performance clauses in his contract by then, Red Bull could replace him during the summer break.
Will Liam Lawson replace Perez at Red Bull?
As much as he would love to do so, it is unlikely that Red Bull will have Lawson step directly into the senior Red Bull team for his rookie year. It has been reported that Daniel Ricciardo will replace Sergio Perez if need be.
Although Daniel has not had the best start to this season, his performances have improved over the last few races. This seems to have convinced Red Bull that he can pilot the RB20 beside Max Verstappen. But this doesn’t mean Lawson will not get a chance to drive in F1. If Ricciardo takes on Perez’s place in Red Bull, Lawson will step into the VCARB.
EXCLUSIVE: Liam Lawson is set to test Red Bull’s RB20 #F1 car at Silverstone next week, Autosport has learned, as the rumour-mill intensifies over Sergio Perez’s future at the team 👀
FULL STORY ✍️: https://t.co/2YcaZCq4d0 pic.twitter.com/vWwQGmdT2t
— Autosport (@autosport) July 6, 2024
Daniel will most probably not be a long-term option for Red Bull. Instead, he would occupy the seat until Red Bull analyzes both their junior drivers – Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson. Based on this analysis, the team will decide who to promote from VCARB.
It will be interesting to see how all this plays out in the next couple of weeks. Do you think Sergio Perez will retain his seat in Red Bull? Post your thoughts in the comments section below.
Rohit Kumar 
Sara Chavan