RB chief reveals Lawson role in pressuring Ricciardo

Visa Cash App RB CEO Peter Bayer has outlined the role that Liam Lawson will have with the team, after his impressive outing last season.

The 22-year-old featured in five races with AlphaTauri (now RB) in 2023 from the Dutch Grand Prix onwards, after Daniel Ricciardo broke his wrist in a nasty incident.

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The New Zealander put in some standout performances in the car, including his first points in the sport with a ninth-place finish in Singapore.

However, over that weekend, Lawson was informed by the team that Ricciardo would return to his seat to partner Yuki Tsunoda for 2024, leaving the Kiwi without a permanent drive.

Lawson to be given more opportunities

After returning to complete his 2023 Super Formula campaign – where he would finish second in the championship – Lawson is solely focused on being the reserve driver for both Red Bull and VCARB this season.

Speaking with Speedcafe, RB chief Bayer highlighted that the team want to give more opportunities to Lawson, as pressure mounts on their drivers to deliver results after a difficult start to the season.

“First of all, he’s a very good reserve driver,” he said.

“He’s keeping the fire warm under the two seats – they’re not getting lazy.

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“At the same time, we do try and run him as much as we can. We’ve done a TPC [Testing Previous Car] in January in Imola. We want to do another one.

“So we try and give him as much track time as we possibly can afford.

“He’s doing simulator sessions and he’s with us. He’s an important part of the team, but I think that is really it.”

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