F1 News: Christian Horner Reveals Real Reason Behind Liam Lawson And Daniel Ricciardo Test

Saajan Jogia | Jul 31, 2024

Christian Horner, Team Principal of Oracle Red Bull Racing, speaks at the Red Bull Fan Zone, a private event at Oracle headquarters, on Wednesday October 18, 2023. / Jay Janner/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has disclosed the real reason behind the upcoming F1 test for reserve driver Liam Lawson and VCARB (RB) driver Daniel Ricciardo, clarifying that it is part of a filming day event.

There had been speculation that Lawson and Ricciardo are being evaluated in the 2024 VCARB 01 F1 car to determine who would be a more suitable replacement for Sergio Perez in the second half of the 2024 season. This consideration comes in light of Perez's significant performance slump following the Chinese Grand Prix.

While Perez has been confirmed to remain with Red Bull for the rest of the season, Horner revealed that the upcoming test is being conducted solely for content purposes. On July 31st, Lawson and Ricciardo will drive the car around Imola for filming, while on August 1st, the team will carry out evaluations on an older car, such as the 2022 AlphaTauri AT03.

Speaking to Crash.net after the Belgian Grand Prix, Horner revealed the filming day reason for the test. He said:

“It’s a filming day, so they’ll be filming. It’s all about content.

“It is in the current car, because you can do 200 km in the current car. So they’ll both be doing plenty of filming.”

Yuki Tsunoda, who has already secured a contract extension with VCARB for 2025, will also be present today to drive the 2024 F1 car, as reported by Racingnews365.com. However, the Japanese driver will only participate on the filming day with the current VCARB 01 F1 car, unlike Lawson and Ricciardo, who will be evaluated in a two-year-old car. Despite his impressive performance this year, Tsunoda does not appear to be on the shortlist of potential replacements for Perez.

Lawson and Ricciardo have previously expressed their clear intentions of joining Red Bull in the future. As the Milton Keynes outfit considers its options, the test at Imola will provide crucial data to aid in deciding the future driver line-up.