Red Bull VCARB driver Liam Lawson says there is no doubt the grid penalty he faces at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix will be a hindrance as he makes his first appearance in the 2024 F1 season.

The Kiwi driver returns to F1 replacing Daniel Ricciardo for the final six races of F1 2024, but will drop 10 places on the grid for his first race at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.

Why is Liam Lawson penalized 10 places on the grid for the United States Grand Prix?

While it may seem strange that a driver who has yet to drive an F1 race this year would be penalized for his very first race, it is important to note the differentiation between car and driver for the purposes of the regulations engine.

The sporting regulations define the allocations as being “per driver”, these allocations being four internal combustion engines (ICE), four MGU-H, four MGU-K, four turbochargers (TC), two electronic control (CE) and two energies. stores (ES).

However, Article 28.4 of the Sporting Regulations adds the rule that “if a driver is replaced at any time during the Championship, his replacement will be considered the original driver for the purposes of evaluating the use of the power unit . »

This changes the rule to apply to the car rather than the driver, despite the wording of the original rule section.

Not only does this keep costs under control, in line with the spirit of the budgetary constraints of the financial regulations, but it prevents teams from resorting to tactical driver changes to add new engines as a weapon in the championships.

As a result, through no fault of his own, Lawson will serve a grid penalty for the United States Grand Prix since Ricciardo had already reached his parts allocation for the season – the penalty applies to the Grand Prix itself , and not in the sprint race. qualifying results.

Given this is his first race since his five-race stint as a substitute at VCARB (then AlphaTauri) last season, it’s a blow to the Kiwi’s prospects as he attempts to convince Red Bull of its value for a full-time racing seat in 2025.

Christian Horner calls engine penalty a ‘soft landing’ for Liam Lawson

Appearing on the F1 Nation podcast, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner confirmed Lawson would lose 10 places in Austin, which has not yet been made official by the FIA, and called the engine penalty “a soft landing” for the 22. -year old.

“At Austin, he’ll take an engine penalty anyway, so he’ll have a smooth landing or reentry,” Horner said.

“But of course he is going to be compared to his teammate (Yuki Tsunoda).

“He was very quick against him last year, I think Yuki has stepped up a gear again this year, so it’s going to be fascinating to see how quickly he adapts, how quickly he progresses.”

Although the engine penalty eases some of the pressure on Lawson in his first race, as it is now impossible for him to match Tsunoda in terms of starting position for Sunday’s grand prix, Lawson was asked about the claim of a “soft landing” from Horner as he appeared on the F1 Nation podcast.

“That’s true, but at the same time it’s the same with the pressure you put on yourself as a driver,” Lawson said.

“Everyone thinks and has different views on things but, for me, I want to have the best possible opportunity to play.

“You could say that yes, there is less pressure, because I know that I am starting from the back of the grid.

“But at the same time, I think as a driver you want to have the best opportunity possible and I know that will hamper me for the race.

“So it’s not just green flags, let’s say that.”

Learn more about Red Bull in F1

👉 Every mid-season driver swap Red Bull has made in its F1 history

👉 Inside Red Bull: Christian Horner and the other major players in the Red Bull hierarchy

What does Red Bull expect from Liam Lawson during his six-race audition?

As VCARB searches for a driver to replace Ricciardo full-time for F1 2025, Lawson is the leading candidate to land the vacant cockpit, provided he compares favorably to Tsunoda in these final six races.

There’s also the vague possibility that Lawson could even end up at Red Bull Racing, if he proves impressive alongside Tsunoda as Sergio Perez strives to return to the form he had at the start of the year – Red Bull was overtaken in the constructors’ championship by McLaren. Recently, Perez has failed to score anywhere near Verstappen’s score, although he has shown signs of rebounding in recent races.

Lawson has already revealed that the targets Red Bull have set for him for his six races are to match Tsunoda’s form and score points.

And Horner says Red Bull is closely monitoring Lawson’s performance in a short, pressure-filled window.

When asked what he expected from Lawson heading into the final six races, Horner said: “It’s hard to say.

“Last year Liam came out and beat Yuki in Singapore and Japan and was fast from the start.

“He’s a tough runner, we know that. He is very adaptable and the testing he has done for us with the Red Bull Racing car this year has been very, very encouraging.

“We know that Yuki is a very, very fast driver and he can definitely go one lap and he is mature, because he is no longer a rookie. He is in his fourth Grand Prix season and now has a lot of experience under his belt.

“So taking that as a data point, we saw where Daniel compared to Yuki.

“It will be very interesting to see how Liam performs in the remaining six races.”

Read next: Michael Schumacher’s iconic Ferrari up for auction with huge price estimated at $15 million