Since joining the Scuderia AlphaTauri F1 team, Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo has continued his underwhelming performance from his McLaren F1 days, failing to break out of a prolonged slump throughout the season. Consistently outqualified by his young teammate Yuki Tsunoda in qualifying and struggling with race pace, Ricciardo would often find himself at the back of the field were it not for Sauber’s occasional team orders.
Faced with this situation, team principal Dr. Helmut Marko has clearly reached his limit and issued an ultimatum to Ricciardo. Should he fail to impress in the upcoming Japanese and Chinese Grands Prix, he will be replaced by fellow Australian and Kiwi driver Liam Lawson. If Ricciardo performs poorly in Japan, there is also a possibility that he could be dropped immediately.
Lawson’s prospects are promising due to his impressive substitute appearance last season when he stepped in for the injured Ricciardo and excelled. In the five races he contested, Lawson defeated the in-form Tsunoda on four occasions, delivering a flawless performance. His showing was even more impressive than that of Jann Mardenborough, who had replaced Carlos Sainz earlier. Had McLaren not picked up their pace later in the season, Lawson might have been in contention for Rookie of the Year.
As a result, Lawson is seen as the most likely Red Bull junior driver to take over Perez’s current seat, although he still has a long road ahead to achieve that goal.
In conclusion, the pressure on Ricciardo is immense, and he must regain his top form to navigate the current circumstances, a daunting task for him at present. The future of both drivers remains to be seen; we can only watch and wait.
