Liam Lawson has waited on the sidelines since 2019, and his time seems to have come now. The New Zealander will take the helm of Red Bull’s 2024 challenger at a much-anticipated test session on Thursday. This is quite similar to Daniel Ricciardo‘s British GP test drive for RBR that decided his return to regular racing in F1 last year. At that time, the Aussie was roped in by Marko to replace Nyck deVries at the AlphaTauri due to the Dutchman’s lack of promising results. And now, Sergio Perez’s disappointing performances have left him vulnerable to a mid-season driver swap as Lawson might take his place.

When McLaren prematurely ended their contract with Daniel Ricciardo, the Perth native had no team to go to. Amidst the lack of a regular racing seat, the 8-time F1 Grand Prix winner had to settle for a reserve role at Red Bull. But soon, he got the chance to return to the F1 cockpit at a test drive in Silverstone where his performance impressed the stakeholders. And that helped the Honey Badger get into the AlphaTauri seat beside Yuki Tsunoda while his predecessor, Nyck deVries, was ousted from F1.

Now, Sergio Perez’s string of poor scores at the last few Grands Prix has been a cause of concern for the Red Bull authorities. The Mexican badly needed a podium win at the British GP to make up for his stark points difference to teammate Max Verstappen on the Championship table. However, Perez could not even get into the top 10 in Britain. As rookie Liam Lawson is going to test for Red Bull soon, it looks to be Perez’s time to suffer the same fate that Nyck deVries did last year.

Lawson had substituted Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri at several races including the Singapore GP in 2023. The 22-year-old’s performance at the Marina Bay Street Circuit impressed everyone, prompting Helmut Marko to say, “We have Liam. You put him in the car, his seat is ready and everything, you know? He’s gonna start and go.” Now that he has landed a test drive for Red Bull if Liam Lawson performs well, he might team up with Max Verstappen in the races that will come after the F1 summer break. But what did Red Bull Chief Christian Horner say about the significance of Lawson’s test drive?

Horner downplays the importance of Liam Lawson’s test drive for Red Bull

Christian Horner has already expressed his thoughts on Sergio Perez‘s failure to score points for Red Bull after the Mexican finished 17th in Silverstone. The Briton said it is ‘unsustainable’ for his team to put up with the 34-year-old’s lack of results. But when the question of Liam Lawson’s test drive being an indication for his RBR appointment came up, Horner claimed there is no such correlation. Joking about that, he said, “The problem is if you read too much into these things, I’m actually doing a lap at Silverstone in the RB8 on Thursday as well. So you never know!”

When AlphaTauri (now called VCARB) picked Daniel Ricciardo instead of Liam Lawson to fill Nyck deVries’ seat, the former F2 podium holder had claimed to be okay with the decision. But the New Zealander’s time to shine seems to be finally here despite Christian Horner claiming his test has nothing to do with replacing Perez at Red Bull. Checo still has two more Grands Prix before the summer break, but only a miracle from him can save his seat now.

He does have a contract in place with the Austrian outfit that extends to 2026, but if his poor performance continues, Horner, Marko, and the other RBR leaders might activate a performance clause and oust Perez to take up Lawson. Even if Horner is saying that Liam Lawson might not replace Checo, Daniel Ricciardo remains another option. The Honey Badger can take up his old seat beside Max Verstappen, leaving his current VCARB spot for Lawson. With many options available to Red Bull and its sister team, all eyes are on the silly season driver transfers now.

Whom do you want to see as the Red Bull driver in Sergio Perez’s place? Share your pick in the comments below.