Nico Rosberg believes that Liam Lawson's return to the grid is more about evaluating the Kiwi for a seat at Red Bull for 2025 than providing him with a head start with RB for next season.
The reigning world champions have suffered this season at the hands of McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, with team papaya now leading the Constructors' Championship by 41 points from Red Bull.
While the team's RB20 is no longer the dominant machine it was at the beginning of the season, Red Bull's main weakness relative to its rivals has been the massive points shortfall suffered by Sergio Perez.
The Mexican's most recent podium dates back to last April's Chinese GP, and rumors have been swirling that Perez's days are numbered at Red Bull, with a whisper in the paddock in Singapore even calling for the 35-year-old's retirement to be announced after next month's Mexican GP, chatter that was laughed off by Perez.
However, the six-time Grand Prix winner's inconsistent performances have severely impacted Red Bull's push for the Constructors' Championship.
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“Red Bull is under threat even to finish third in the Constructors' Championship, because they really only have one driver, and even that one driver is kind of struggling at times with the car,” commented Rosberg, speaking on a recent Sky F1 podcast .
“And Ferrari do have two drivers. “McLaren have two drivers, and that's kind of making it all the most difficult for them.”
While the pressure continues to mount on Perez, especially for 2025, Rosberg pointed out that Red Bull's lack of a clear replacement for the Mexican adds complexity to the situation.
“It's a difficult situation for them,” the 2016 F1 world champion explained. “The thing is that they don't really have a replacement either.
“[Yuki] Tsunoda, they don't see him as quite strong enough to be replacing Perez. “Ricciardo is out so there's not really a replacement, and that's making it even more difficult.”
Rosberg reckons that after taking over Daniel Riccardo's seat at RB, Lawson's performances will be closely monitored as part of what the German sees as an audition for a potential 2025 race seat.
“That's another reason that they want to try Lawson out,” he added. “Because Lawson if he does amazingly well for these last six races, then certainly he would be considered for the main Red Bull seat for next year.”
Rosberg finds Perez's sudden decline particularly baffling, given his history of solid driving and his ability to challenge Verstappen at times last year.
"It's also so strange though, with Perez, because we all know he's a good driver, and he at times was actually challenging Max for the World Championship in small segments, even last year," he said.
“And now he's just somehow dropped so far back. “It's very, very strange.”
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