Horner warns Ricciardo that "difficult decisions" will have to be made
F1 News
Christian Horner admits that "difficult decisions" will have to be made at Red Bull, as rumours continue to grow surrounding Daniel Ricciardo and his Formula 1 future. There is the belief that the Singapore Grand Prix will be the last Grand Prix in the career of the Australian, and he is expected to be replaced by Liam Lawson before the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
Rumours broke out before the Grand Prix around the Marina Bay Circuit that Ricciardo will be replaced before the end of the 2024 season by Visa Cash App RB, with New Zealander Lawson the expected suitor. While speaking to Sky Sports, Horner was asked whether it would be the last race in F1 for Ricciardo, and the British team boss did not squash any of the rumours: "Look, these things are under constant review and there is obviously a much bigger picture other than just Daniel as we continue to look at all of our options as we move forward."
Horner continued on by saying why Red Bull and RB will be having these talks over their driver lineup: "There's a natural break coming with effectively almost a month's gap to the next race, so it's only natural that we all take stock and consider all of those options for the final part of the year."
Is Lawson's contract the reason for Ricciardo's departure?
Many wonder why Red Bull and the Racing Bulls team are replacing Ricciardo with Lawson so quickly, right after the race in Singapore. A big reason has been rumoured to be that Lawson is contractually obligated to be promoted to Formula 1 by mid-September; otherwise, he is free to leave the Austrian team.
Horner was posed that question, but the team boss did not entertain it: "I'm not going to go into the ins and outs of drivers contracts. There's privacy there. Liam, the job he did for us in the VCARB car last year, was very impressive. Now, we took experience [for 2024] over that because Daniel was our banker if Sergio [Perez] were to drop the ball.
"Daniel's had a reasonable season, but it hasn't been a stellar year. Now, the question is, how good is Liam? And sometimes, difficult decisions have to be made in order to get those answers. Now, we'll sit down with all of those options available to us during this next three-week gap," concluded Horner.
This article was written in collaboration with Ludo van Denderen