“Highly unlikely” Lawson will replace Perez before end of season – Horner

Formula 1

30th October 2024, 8:1429th October 2024, 21:04 | Written by Keith Collantine

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner played down, but did not rule out, the possibility of Liam Lawson replacing Sergio Perez at the team this year.

Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free

Perez failed to score for the fifth time this season in Mexico. Red Bull were leading the constructors’ championship five races ago but fell to third last weekend.

Red Bull dropped Daniel Ricciardo from their second team RB two rounds ago, replacing him with Lawson, who impressed during a five-race spell as a substitute for the team last year. Lawson scored points on his return in Austin.

Perez endured a conspicuously poor weekend in his home race. He failed to progress beyond Q1 and was penalised for a false start before damaging his car in an incident with Lawson.

But with just four races left this season, Horner indicated he doesn’t envisage replacing Perez with Lawson. “I think it’s highly, highly unlikely,” he told Viaplay. “We’ll sit down and look and try and understand what happened in this race.”

However he admitted Perez had a poor race in front of his home crowd. “He picked up quite a lot of damage and his race was shot at that point,” said Horner. “He picked up a penalty for the start. So definitely a race to forget.”

Perez laid the blame for his poor race at Lawson’s feet. “It was very unfortunate because we were making a lot of progress,” he said. “We were definitely going in the right direction.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

“We were up to P10 already, although with the penalty we had in the beginning. It was looking like good points for the day to minimise the damage but then unfortunately we came together with Lawson and we picked up a massive damage.”

While Perez blamed Lawson for their collision, the stewards only investigated the Red Bull driver for the incident. They cleared him, but Perez believed Lawson should have been penalised.

“To me it’s simple,” said Perez. “He was off the track. I was on the inside into turn four and the only route he had was to cut the corner and go straight, just basically like if there was no one there. That meant that we damaged the both of our races.”

The stewards ruled Perez made a late move which forced Lawson off the track. “It’s not his fault, he’s coming up and he’s just driving without control,” Perez continued. “He did the same to Fernando last weekend, he’s done it to me, he’s done it to Franco at the end of the race and there is no penalty. So it really depends who you are here and to see what sort of penalties you get.”

Perez said he won’t “waste my time” trying to talk to Lawson about their clash: “He doesn’t understand anything.”

Miss nothing from RaceFans

Get a daily email with all our latest stories - and nothing else. No marketing, no ads. Sign up here:

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Formula 1

Browse all Formula 1 articles

Author information

Keith Collantine

Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...
Read more about Keith Collantine, find all their articles and get in touch with them

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

35 comments on ““Highly unlikely” Lawson will replace Perez before end of season – Horner”

Jere (@jerejj)
30th October 2024, 8:34

Maybe not before the season is over, but after is another matter, & Checo just can’t accept the reality that the only reason he was off track was that he got forced & subsequently at T5, Checo didn’t bother to give him any space to rejoin without contact, so the damage was solely caused by Checo himself.
He really should leave for everyone’s, including his, sake.
Checo’s attitude is simply annoying & disrespectful, also claiming he doesn’t understand anything when the opposite is clearly true.
He also should open his eyes regarding the collision with Colapinto, which was pure dirty driving by him for voluntarily leaving track limits & subsequently ramming into the front wing despite being given more than enough space at T2 to avoid contact.
Both Checo & Colapinto could’ve turned their steering wheels more sharply, including in full steering lock angle, had they bothered to just like Max at T1 & 4.
1. drmouse (@drmouse)
  30th October 2024, 8:46
  
  To be fair, Checo’s attitude on this is dissimilar to that of his teammate. The difference is that Max is one of the best drivers on track, and Perez…. isn’t
  1. BasCB (@bascb)
    30th October 2024, 9:20
    
    To be honest, I was somewhat baffled by how hard Lawson raced Perez and others during that race, I am rather sure it didn’t do him much good either, regardless of getting penalties or not. His race would probably have been better overall had he just let Perez get by in the faster car and maybe kept on his tail to follow through.
    
    Wholly agree that replacing Perez right now won’t do much good, but we can all see they need to solve their second seat soon (not convinced Lawson is the solution either, but that’s RBs issue to solve)
    1. Jere (@jerejj)
      30th October 2024, 9:23
      
      @bascb He had zero reason to let him by as if he was about to be lapped & Checo shouldn’t have been (& shouldn’t be generally) in such a position where he’d need to pass a VCARB in the first place.
      Lawson simply races hard to try & justify a 2025 promotion as much as possible, which Checo should also realize, given his overall post-Chinese GP performance level.
      
      @drmouse Good point
      1. BasCB (@bascb)
        30th October 2024, 9:30
        
        Having no “obligation” to let Perez by is not the same as “no reason” as you surely know @jerejj. He lost a lot of time as well as tyre performance. The Red Bull was faster and he really wasn’t winning even favours with Marko for fighting this as hard as he did, apart from losing time.
        
        That Perez shouldn’t have qualified where he did (nor should Piastri though, showing it IS tight and it seems getting the tyres right really is tricky) is clear and I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him replaced already (I guess they feel a lack of a clear cut replacement is the reason for that). But that is not relevant for how hard to defend a position there he was likely to lose just from the sheer speed difference of the cars.
      2. Greg
        30th October 2024, 17:29
        
        Of course he had reasons, he races for Red Bull’s B team.
    2. Esploratore (@esploratore1)
      30th October 2024, 11:55
      
      If they really wanted to solve the 2nd seat problem, they had sainz for a loooooong while; they didn’t really want to, it seems.
  2. Esploratore (@esploratore1)
    30th October 2024, 11:52
    
    Surely you mean isn’t dissimilar, else the sentence doesn’t make sense.
  3. Esploratore (@esploratore1)
    30th October 2024, 11:54
    
    As far as I’m aware, with the 3 he got here he was considered the worst driver in mexico, and on the race website, where they just rank drivers, as in best, 2nd best etc., he was considered the worst of all.
Ray West (@raynaud2211)
30th October 2024, 8:47

Replacing Perez with Lawson doesn’t make any sense. To little time to adjust and get results. It will only impact his career when performing not as expected. Just let Perez finish the season and do something radical next year. Also, winning the constructeurs championship with the RB is not possible with its current performance imo.
1. Jere (@jerejj)
  30th October 2024, 9:25
  
  Not necessarily a given, as Lawson at Red Bull Racing after 11 GPs (total) would be comparability less risky than Antonelli directly starting at Mercedes, so he could equally well succeed as he could fail if he started next season in the main team.
  1. Ray West (@raynaud2211)
    30th October 2024, 10:14
    
    True, he could succeed. But I don’t think he is the one for the RB main team. So with radical I was more thinking of Franco Colapinto. I don’t think that Lawson has the speed that is needed next to Verstappen. But that’s just my own opinion.
    1. Esploratore (@esploratore1)
      30th October 2024, 11:58
      
      I agree, overall I don’t think lawson is faster than tsunoda, which isn’t enough for a proper number 2 driver at red bull; colapinto indeed could do it, sainz would’ve done it too.
      1. Jere (@jerejj)
        30th October 2024, 13:43
        
        @raynaud2211 @esploratore1
        Jumping to definitive conclusions about Colapinto pointless as him faring better at Red Bull Racing than Lawson is far from a given in any case.
2. ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
  30th October 2024, 13:27
  
  I’m not sure I understand this view point that many seem to share.
  
  Surely Red Bull’s fight in the Constructors Championship?! Perez is completely incapable at this point. Lawson would surely do as good, if not better job?
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
30th October 2024, 10:01

I’m happy to be proven wrong on this but I don’t rate Lawson at all.

His form at the end of 2023 was fair but not spectacular. Texas was a good GP on a favourable strategy accompanied by a rusty rest of the weekend. In Mexico I think he misjudged both Perez and Colapinto collisions. He may not have been technically wrong but he was strategically wrong.

For me this boils down to perspective. Is the expectation that he would be better than Perez or that he can help win the constructors in 25 and be ready to lead the team if Max leaves in 26 or, more likely, 27? I’m 100% certain that Lawson would be better than Checo, at this stage he’s a liability. But moving an inexperienced driver next to Max, in a car 2 very experienced drivers have struggled with all season, has Albon/Gasly vibes.

Tsunoda is underperforming. He’s beaten his teammate in 3 of the past 12 rounds. If Lawson is to prove competent enough to fight for race wins next year, which should be a minimum requirement in a team that will have won 6 of the last 8 titles, then Liam has to beat Yuki at every race. Silly tangles with another rookie and the guy you’re fighting for a job with looked like indoor baseball to me.
Dex
30th October 2024, 10:25

I doubt that Lawson is better than Perez.
1. ECWDanSelby (@ecwdanselby)
  30th October 2024, 13:28
  
  lol really?!?
stefano (@alfa145)
30th October 2024, 11:24

it’s just a PR to anticipate that Lawson will replace Perez next season regardless of his contract. Put the idea of the in-season replacement, to make it look less shocking when it happens in a few months time.
1. Esploratore (@esploratore1)
  30th October 2024, 12:02
  
  Yes, that would make sense; they’re still fighting for the constructor’s championship after all, though I really doubt at this point either perez or lawson would make any difference with that, and then I have no doubt replacing perez is a good idea for next year, I just don’t think lawson is the right driver.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
30th October 2024, 12:19

Franco’s incident aside (which I think both could’ve given each other more room), I don’t think Lawson did anything wrong with Perez.

In my opinion, Perez went for a gap that was always going to close. Lawson made his move to defend very early and Perez still went for an impossible gap, which meant there was no way he was turning around that corner at a reasonable radious without clipping Lawson. He tried to force a move ala Touring Car Racing, and ended up with damage, and he blames the other party? Baffling to me…

That being said, while Lawson doesn’t feel like the ideal Red Bull driver, I really cannot see how this situation with Perez can continue. Mexico was the lowest point in an already lowest ever situation… It’d be more difficult to get him back from there than to replace him with a less than ideal driver.
Yannetta
30th October 2024, 12:44

Amazed by the enormous lack of understanding of what is really going in RB. Politics is the name of the game. Someone has interest in only having one driver succeed, at all cost. Do I need to say his name? Horner has proven to be a pretty unprofessional leader, having allowed the Jos-Marko gang take control. The departure of high profile figures from RB is just the consequence of unprofessional leadership. team is on a fast spiral downwards. Toto Wolf couldn’t have said it better: “Checo is not a P16 driver, neither Max a P6 one”. Go ahead and blame Checo, and Sainz, and Alonso and Franco for that matter…
notagrumpyfan
30th October 2024, 12:59

There might be a good reason to put Liam (or any more competitive driver than Perez) in the car this year.
(One scenario) For Lando to win the championship, he needs to win all races and Sprints with a FLAP and have Piastri come second (rather than Max).
The second RBR can focus on making sure Piastri cannot end up between Norris and Verstappen or steal away a couple of FLAP points. This could be a great help for the WDC fight, and in 2024 Perez doesn’t seem the driver who can do that.
1. Asanator (@asanator)
  30th October 2024, 22:06
  
  It doesn’t need to be Piastri that comes second, at the moment there are two.Ferraris that could easily be between Norris and Vestappen as well.
David BR (@david-br)
30th October 2024, 14:01

Still don’t understand why Red Bull didn’t snap up Sainz early in the season. Surely they’re regretting it now?
Lawson is definitely better than Pérez but it needs some pace, racecraft, confidence and resilience to compete against Max. Has Lawson got the lot now or will he succumb to pressure like Gasly and everyone else? Maybe it makes more sense to have a faster experienced driver and spend a bit more time looking for a serious long-term MV replacement should he head to Mercedes and Aston Martin. A full season for Lawson with the juniors at least.
1. BasCB (@bascb)
  30th October 2024, 14:10
  
  I guess Sainz wanted at least a 2 year contract?
  1. David BR (@david-br)
    30th October 2024, 14:11
    
    @bascb Couldn’t Red Bull have done that with a performance clause or something?
    1. BasCB (@bascb)
      31st October 2024, 13:13
      
      I think they should have, yeah. But who knows how things went in detail, right. Also, there is the feeling that maybe having a Sainz – Verstappen pairing wouldn’t work too good with Max, as Bob2 mentions, it wasn’t exactly smooth at STR with them together, although I would think both have matured as drivers, but I can see that being one consideration, especially when RB already feel Max might be looking at other options elsewhere.
      1. David BR (@david-br)
        31st October 2024, 23:43
        
        @bascb True, I thought at the time that Red Bull were worried about keeping Verstappen after all the early season friction and Newey left and that they later re-signed Pérez for that reason (to keep him happy). Whether that’s enough is less certain.
2. Bob2 (@bob2)
  31st October 2024, 1:53
  
  Because they are all in on trying to keep Verstappen and the last thing they need (other than an alleged ménage à trois with his dad, the Boss and the office girl) is the interpersonal battle Sainz would bring.
  
  When Verstappen walks at the end on ’25 they will have a real dilemma, agreed.
uzsjgb (@uzsjgb)
30th October 2024, 14:03

If Red Bull thought that Lawson were a candidate for the Perez’ seat, they would have put him in the RB much, much earlier. Instead of Lawson they tried to get Herta, then put De Vries and Ricciardo in the seat. Does this really seem like Lawson is Red Bull’s next great thing?
1. An Sionnach
  30th October 2024, 21:08
  
  I think with Lawson, Red Bull is moving in the right direction. For a team with four active drivers, only one of them has been worth it. Tsunoda can be fast, but I expect they made up their mind about him long ago. He’s just there for the engines. If Max goes, they lose everything. They should get almost any young driver in to replace Pérez and Tsunoda as soon as possible. There are too many on the sidelines now with at least some potential.
Brett
30th October 2024, 23:09

just let me know if this is really dumb but with as bad as Perez has been and yet he’s still there I can’t help thinking that RB are actively trying to not win the constructors, because of all of the penalties that come with it, reduced wind tunnel etc esp in front of the upcoming reg changes and banking the Perez $’s against the reduced income
LawFish (@lawfish)
30th October 2024, 23:44

It’s been suggested, so let’s add some support for Danny. Vote now….
https://chng.it/6cGpct9PBw
KaIIe (@kaiie)
1st November 2024, 6:10

Highly unlikely? So, that’s like confirming that this will happen.