Ricciardo & Lawson set for Imola test showdown

RB’s Daniel Ricciardo and Liam Lawson are evidently set to go head-to-head in a testing session at Imola this week.

Lawson and Ricciardo will share a 2022 AlphaTauri AT03 for the session, classified as a ‘filming day’ per Formula 1 regulations.

The test presents the opportunity to compare the two drivers in identical machinery and conditions. Thereafter Red Bull and RB decide their driver line-ups ahead of the second half of the 2024 season and beyond.

Lawson also recently tested with Red Bull Racing at Silverstone and impressed during the outing. However, weather conditions made drawing a meaningful comparison to Red Bull and RB’s drivers from the British Grand Prix difficult.

Red Bull has confirmed Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez for the 2025 Formula 1 season. However, the latter’s form since the Canadian Grand Prix may see his contract extension voided.

Widely circulated media reports have indicated a clause in Perez’s contract allowing Red Bull to drop or demote to RB mid-season. That’s if he was more than 100 points behind Verstappen. Ahead of this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, the Mexican sits 141 points in arrears of his teammate.

While Perez qualified on the front row at Spa he was still half a second off Verstappen’s time. He narrowly escaped being eliminated by Alex Albon in Q2 by just 0.003 seconds.

Ricciardo, too, is under pressure for his seat. He has been outscored by Yuki Tsunoda by 22 points to 11 in 2024. He has yet to sign an agreement beyond this season.

The eight-time Grand Prix winner was expected to challenge Perez for his seat at Red Bull when he replaced Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri in 2023.

Since then, the Australian has struggled to find form, only finishing in the points in three Grand Prix over 18 attempts. He did, however, perform strongly in the Miami Grand Prix Sprint to secure five championship points with a fourth-placed finish.

In the same time frame, Tsunoda has achieved 11 top-ten finishes. Ricciardo did miss five races since returning to the sport due to an injury sustained at Zandvoort, ultimately giving Lawson his Formula 1 debut.

Tsunoda will also be in action during the filming day at Imola in RB’s current car.

The Japanese driver has been confirmed as remaining with RB for the 2025 campaign.

Should Lawson not secure a place on the grid with Red Bull next season, it is likely he will become a free agent. Sauber is believed to have expressed an interest in the Kiwi’s services.