One driver feud F1 fans have been looking at is Daniel Ricciardo vs Yuki Tsunoda. Mainly because of what’s at stake, the two of them are fighting for a seat. Next year, it’s almost guaranteed one of them will be out, as young gun Liam Lawson yearns to take over that second Racing Bull’s seat.
Liam Lawson
Lawson, born in New Zealand, is 22 years old. During qualifying at the Netherlands last year, Ricciardo broke a bone in his hand. He crashed into a wall trying to avoid hitting McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, who also crashed into that same barrier. That weekend, Lawson took over and performed really well. Liam finished 13th in his first-ever F1 race at Zandvoort. His first points finish was in Singapore, where he finished 9th. On that same weekend, he also happened to kick Max Verstappen out of qualifying. His lowest finish was 17th in Qatar. He’s due for another opportunity.
Daniel Ricciardo
Ever since he left Red Bull for Renault back in 2018, he has been on a downward spiral. His career took another turn for the worse after his time with McLaren. He was at the back of the grid every race until ultimately finding himself out of a job. Red Bull brought Ricciardo back on last year as a reserve driver in hopes of finding himself again. After Racing Bull’s let go of young driver Nyck De Vries mid-season last year, Red Bull threw Ricciardo in his seat since they own them as well. In the six races he participated in last year, he scored six points. However, all six came in Mexico.
Daniel Ricciardo vs Yuki Tsunoda
Right now, Ricciardo finds himself in the spot he dreaded just a couple of years ago; he’s being outperformed by his teammate. Tsunoda is kicking Ricciardo’s butt. Not only in qualifying, where Yuki is sweeping Daniel 4-0, he also has seven points on the year, while Ricciardo hasn’t produced any.
Ricciardo is on the hot seat, and you have to think there have been conversations on having a Lawson/Tsunoda driver lineup for next year. And right now, they should go with that.
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