Liam Lawson completes important test day for Red Bull with VCARB run scheduled

Liam Lawson was behind the wheel of a Red Bull RB20 for a day’s testing action at Monza on Tuesday as four teams complete some 2025 preparation work.

Three F1 teams are carrying out some extra testing on behalf of Pirelli this week, with Mercedes, Red Bull, and VCARB performing the duties on this occasion.

Liam Lawson completes useful day for Red Bull

As part of Pirelli’s testing programme for its 2025 tyre compounds and constructions, all the teams are given an opportunity to take part in one of several scheduled tests throughout the season.

The latest such tests are being conducted in Italy this week, with three teams staying on at Monza for two days of track action following the Italian Grand Prix.

Mercedes and Red Bull are performing the duties on behalf of Pirelli, with the two teams logging the laps and putting in the miles – the tests do not allow for any development or setup work, with the cars running in previously used configurations and only using whichever tyres are laid out for them at any given moment by the tyre manufacturer.

Liam Lawson was behind the wheel of the Red Bull RB20, with George Russell carrying out testing duties on behalf of Mercedes.

Russell was the quicker of the two, putting in a 1:20.747 on the soft tyre compound, completing 127 laps in the process. Lawson’s best time was 1:22.126, with 104 laps of Monza circuit completed.

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While Red Bull and Mercedes return home after Tuesday, Lawson will stay on at Monza as VCARB carries out a day of Pirelli testing on Wednesday – the Kiwi driver being given plenty of opportunity to put in the miles as the prospect of a switch into an F1 cockpit with one of Red Bull’s teams remains a possibility.

With Sergio Perez’s future not assured until the end of the F1 2024 season, Lawson is a leading candidate to be slotted in at either Red Bull or VCARB if a change to the driver line-up at the reigning World Champions is made in its push to secure the titles.

Separately from the Monza test, Pirelli is also carrying out some testing at Fiorano with Ferrari, as Oliver Bearman works on wet weather tyre development behind the wheel of an SF-24.

The last test took place after the Belgian Grand Prix, with Alpine and Aston Martin carrying out two days of work at Spa-Francorchamps with Jack Doohan and Stoffel Vandoorne, respectively.