Liam Lawson is gearing up for a very important day on Thursday at the wheel of Red Bull’s RB20, with two hundred kilometres of track at his disposal to impress.
Red Bull takes advantage of its second permitted running day of the year at Silverstone on Thursday, handing over its RB20 to reserve driver Liam Lawson as speculation swirls about what could happen to either Red Bull’s driver line-ups. equipment.
While F1 regulations allow drivers to drive older F1 cars (at least two years old and no more than five) for personal testing through their previous Car Testing Rules (TPC), the operation of existing machines outdoors during Grand Prix weekends is stricter. revised.
In addition to the official pre-season and post-season testing for young drivers, other sanctioned activities come with the Pirelli tire testing program: each team has the opportunity to participate in the tire manufacturer’s tests that take place throughout the year. anus. fall under the existing car testing regulations (TCC).
Pirelli tyres took position this week at Silverstone, with track times set by McLaren, Williams and Haas on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But on Thursday, Red Bull will host its second TCC promotional event of the year: each team has two days a year where they can drive their existing car on a track with the aim of collecting promotional material, such as photographs and videos. allowing a track time of two hundred kilometres, employing the car in a familiar configuration with no new parts allowed and using specially proportioned Pirelli ‘Academy’ tyres.
Assuming the team uses the entire Grand Prix circuit, Lawson will have 34 laps, and those 34 laps may prove to be his immediate future.
While Red Bull and Christian Horner have played down the event, describing how the race has been planned for some time, PlanetF1. com understand that the New Zealander will be closely monitored to assess his driving behaviour.
While their speed is not easy to measure, using the estimated time difference between the tires on the running day and the C1, C2 and C3 compounds used on the British Grand Prix weekend can give Red Bull an idea of its speed.
This knowledge, as well as looking at how Lawson handles the tension of the start with the senior team, would add to existing knowledge from his past FP1 outings, his weekends replacing the injured Daniel Ricciardo for AlphaTauri (now VCARB) last year. and past appearances with either team.
There are similarities between that start and Ricciardo’s decisive test at the wheel of the RB19 at the same circuit at the same time last year. With Nyck de Vries struggling in the AlphaTauri, Red Bull put Ricciardo behind the wheel of the RB19 for a Pirelli tyre overhaul. – which used existing tyre compounds and prototypes – and his speed proved enough for Red Bull to make the decision to upgrade to De immediately. Vries with the Australian for the rest of the season.
Since Red Bull did not take part in the Pirelli tyre check this week, it resorted to the allocation of running days to give Lawson the chance to drive the RB20. Rather than focusing on running Pirelli’s race programme, the day necessarily serves as a private, mileage-limited check for Lawson; The only difference is that it uses less applicable tire compounds, which makes comparative analyses more confusing.
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Officially, there is no greater focus for this launch than Red Bull to gather its promotional curtains for use in the second part of the season.
But the timing of the review cannot be overlooked – it coincides with a time when Red Bull is increasingly aware of its precarious position in the constructors’ championship as Sergio Perez continues to struggle to get fit.
This may not have been illustrated more obviously than the British Grand Prix weekend, when Max Verstappen took on the McLaren and Mercedes drivers alone; In the end, he lost to Lewis Hamilton in the war for victory. Red Bull has lost ground to McLaren in the championship standings, prompting Christian Horner to admit that Perez’s current lack of form is unsustainable.
“If we make too much of those things, I’ll also do a lap at Silverstone in RB8 on Thursday, so you never know,” he joked. “Seriously, Liam’s aero race has been planned for a few months now.
“So of course, Checo, he’s under pressure. It’s general in Formula 1 and when you’re not up to the task, the pressure only increases and he’s aware of that, he knows it and this weekend nothing went right. “he wanted to.
PlanetF1. com also understands that Horner has been inspired by Ricciardo’s recent improvement, in which he equals (or surpasses) the performances of the much-loved Yuki Tsunoda. Ricciardo has proven to be a very capable team-mate alongside Verstappen in the past. And signs are emerging that the Australian is closer to his top talent than he was at the start of this season to put him in contention.
The performance clauses in Ricciardo and Perez’s contracts may open the door to a seat change – that is, if Ricciardo can continue his upward momentum over the remaining races to tastefully triumph in the summer break, which places Christian Horner in the sumptuous position of being able to decide whether or not to promote Ricciardo in the seat he left at the end of 2018 or discuss with Pérez.
Speaking to German newspaper Auto Motor und Sport, Helmut Marko concluded the situation facing Horner and Red Bull by saying: “We will know more during the summer holidays. “
Lawson is understood to be in negotiations with Audi over his vacant 2025 seat, meaning filming day may simply be Red Bull’s assessment of the Kiwi to see whether or not he pushes the button. cause and assign him a seat with almost immediate effect: his option on Lawson will expire in September, meaning Lawson becomes a free agent if Red Bull does not move forward.
Details of the alleged contract clauses that allowed Red Bull to sack or demote Perez emerged during the British Grand Prix weekend, with a clause requiring the Mexican to be within a hundred Verstappen units during the summer break; the gap is currently 137 units.
Despite his new two-year contract signed just over a month ago, Red Bull has little to lose by demoting Perez to VCARB (or leaving him entirely) and bringing in either Ricciardo or Lawson in a bid to breathe life into their championship aspirations. for the second half. it’s from the season. PlanetF1. com understands that Tsunoda is not promoted at this time.
The ultimate result would likely be to announce Ricciardo at Red Bull alongside Verstappen for the second part of the season, with Perez having the option to return to VCARB. If the Mexican did not decide on this option, or was absolutely excluded from Red Bull’s four-driver line-up, Lawson would enter the VCARB.
There’s also the possibility, though far less likely, that Lawson will prove impressive enough to step in and update Perez with VCARB’s driving force alignment unchanged, and Perez removed.
If Perez secures the option of a mid-season replacement by putting in strong performances in Hungary and Belgium, Lawson’s assessment would also give Red Bull a benchmark to work with when determining their 2025 line-up as leader. At the moment when the VCARB cab remains open.
The New Zealander is set for another TPC to check out the AlphaTauri AT03 at Imola the week after the Belgium Grand Prix, meaning Red Bull can take its time deciding the future of Perez, Lawson and Ricciardo for 2025, all while other youngsters Isack Hadjar battle for the Formula 2 title.
Red Bull’s position is far from bad for next season, as it looks like Perez and Ricciardo are entering critical moments in their careers, but no major decisions can be made if Lawson’s functionality proves less impressive – the Kiwi will be aware of that. tension in his shoulders ahead of the day’s action at Silverstone.
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