The second of three races in the United States this season, Formula 1 headed to Austin, Texas for the United States Grand Prix – the only one of the three at a permanent circuit.
But to the disappointment of many who will be attending at Circuit of the Americas this weekend, Daniel Ricciardo will not be racing after being dropped by RB and Red Bull in favour of Liam Lawson.
Will Lawson carry on his strong form from last season and show that Red Bull have made the right call to let Ricciardo go?
Ricciardo out, Lawson in
The more than 100,000 fans who will flock to Circuit of the Americas this weekend will have purchased their tickets months in advance eager to see their favourite drivers.
Max Verstappen. Lewis Hamilton. Charles Leclerc. Fernando Alonso. And even Daniel Ricciardo, who has become an adopted son of sorts for Austin due to his popularity from Drive to Survive and his unashamed appreciation of Texan culture. But any dreams of seeing Ricciardo racing this weekend died harder than a Dallas Cowboys playoff run when Red Bull decided to dump the affable Australian in favour of Liam Lawson, who will assume the second RB seat alongside Yuki Tsunoda for the remainder of the season.
While Red Bull’s handling of Ricciardo’s departure appears to have upset virtually everyone, Lawson’s worthiness of a seat on the grid should not be questioned. He more than held his own over the handful of rounds he was able to compete standing in for Ricciardo last year following his wrist injury. The 22-year-old now has an excellent opportunity to show Red Bull he deserves to be racing for RB full time in 2025.
But regardless, Red Bull may still have to face a weekend of being treated as heels by the COTA crowd for ditching their favourite driver. Christian Horner and RB team principal Laurent Mekies will no doubt facing many uncomfortable questions this weekend – but at least they had three weeks to prepare for it.
Will Verstappen continue FIA boycott?
The headlines for the last round in Singapore were dominated as much by what occurred off track as what took place on it. World champion Verstappen started the weekend earning an unusual penalty from the event’s stewards for swearing in the Thursday press conference, requiring him to complete ‘some work of public interest’, and spent the rest of the weekend refusing to answer any questions in the FIA press conferences beyond just a single sentence or a…
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