Steiner: Sometimes you have to make difficult decisions

Former Haas F1 director Gunther Steiner discusses Red Bull’s decision to replace Daniel Ricciardo with Liam Lawson six races before the end of the season in his column on the championship’s official website.

During the autumn break in the championship, Red Bull Racing and RB remain in the news due to their mid-season decision to replace Daniel Ricciardo with Liam Lawson. To some extent, however, this was expected news.

Rumors have been going around for months that Liam should at some point secure a place in one of the Red Bull teams. There was also talk that Daniel could replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing, but then it became clear that he would not replace him. In general, it cannot be said that the news about Liam surprised anyone very much.

He did well last year when he replaced Daniel in five races. I think Red Bull knew that if they didn’t offer Liam a seat in one of their cars next year, he could move to another team because he showed what he is capable of in 2023.

They didn’t want to lose him, and now they’ll have a chance to appreciate him better. Of course, tough action was taken against Daniel, but it was thanks to Red Bull that he was given a second chance after a difficult period at McLaren, but that did not work out.

When Ricciardo parted ways with McLaren, his health was not in the best of health. It was clear that he didn’t look like himself, like the Daniel we knew. Perhaps he returned to Formula 1 too early, expecting to be able to repeat what Fernando Alonso, Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenberg managed to do in their time – after all, they all did it. But he doesn’t.

It is easier said than done, but even then he should have announced: “I have won 8 Grand Prix, in my time I have achieved success in Formula 1, but now it is time to start a new chapter.”

However, it turned out differently, although in my opinion there is no point in withstanding and enduring all this just to prove something to someone, although he has already proven to the whole world that he can win races. It was no coincidence that he won them, but that he really fought hard for each victory.

Saying goodbye to Ricciardo will be difficult for many, especially for people who met him through the documentary series Drive to Survive. To his credit, Formula 1 has gained many new fans. He’s a colorful character and a great guy too. But this is F1, it happens here too. There is only room for 20 racers on the grid and you have to perform to survive.

Liam showed great patience as he waited his turn on the bench and now it’s clear it was worth it. He is constantly working on the simulator, knows the team very well and already has experience from five races. He’s a smart guy and I would compare him to Oscar Piastri. He bides his time, preferring to remain silent, does not criticize anything, but just works and tries to absorb as much information as possible. I think he is well prepared for his upcoming return to the wheel.

The decision to change drivers is always difficult, whether during the season or in preparation for the next championship. From my experience at Haas I know that the longer you wait, the harder it is to accept. Everyone has their own opinion, which only makes things more difficult.

Telling a racer you’re leaving is never pleasant. Sometimes you have to take risks, sometimes it just doesn’t work out. In general, all this is not easy.

When you hire a new driver, you don’t know what will happen next. But Liam made a good impression at Red Bull last year, which made it easier for them to make the decision. But the same thing happened to Daniel when he replaced Nick de Vries in the Faenza team mid-season in 2023.

Ricciardo impressed the team during his time in the reserves and later during the Pirelli test. Red Bull may not have been confident that he would necessarily do better than De Vries, but they were hopeful. In such cases, you have to rely on your intuition, even though you have all the necessary information.

They then replaced Nick with Daniel, but it turned out not to be the best choice if they now had to say goodbye to Ricciardo. Someone made the wrong decision, but this only becomes clear over time. But it happens.

I suppose they thought at the time that if Daniel had won races before, he should probably have regained his form after a dismal spell at McLaren. But this is the case when everything does not go as you would like.

Changing drivers gives you the opportunity to see everything from a broader perspective. There are four places available for the two Red Bull teams. With Liam joining Yuki Tsunoda at RB, they will see if he is good enough to move him to Red Bull Racing to replace Sergio Perez.

Ultimately, the team manager is responsible for ensuring that both cars are driven by the best possible drivers, within the scope of their authority. This means that sometimes you have to make difficult decisions that sometimes work out and sometimes don’t. This is where the difficulty lies.