Lawson facing penalty nightmare on F1 return

Helmut Marko has revealed Liam Lawson is set to take an immediate grid penalty on his return to F1 next month.

Daniel Ricciardo, as was widely expected, was relieved of his RB seat and replaced by New Zealander Lawson in a deal until the end of this season, with motorsport advisor Marko a long-time backer of the latter.

Although Lawson is replacing Ricciardo, he takes over the engine allocation for the Australian, which is assigned per car and does not start afresh. It means Lawson will take on any potential grid drops Ricciardo could have faced.

With the upcoming US Grand Prix in Austin a sprint event, grid penalties for exceeding engine components only count for the main race. Unless Lawson picks up a sprint-specific penalty, he will serve the expected 10-place drop for Sunday's race.

"The first race [in the United States] won't be relevant because he has an engine penalty," Marko told Motorsport Total. 

"He will drop 10 places in the sprint race, so that doesn't exactly make life easier in Austin."

Ricciardo ultimately failed to perform for RB after being handed his chance last season, one which was heavily disrupted when he missed five races after breaking a bone in his left hand.

That thrust Lawson into the spotlight, allowing the 22-year-old a chance to shine, which he duly took with both hands although he has had to wait patiently on the sidelines this year and watch how Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda have fared.

In the end, after long touting Lawson, Marko has explained that ditching Ricciardo was always on the cards. It now affords him the chance to evaluate again ahead of deciding on where to place him for next season. 

"We have a good number of young drivers, that is clear," the veteran Austrian added, with F2 title contender Isack Hadjar waiting in the wings and Arvid Lindblad rising through the ranks.

"We have to look towards the future, and we want to have a comparison. Where does Lawson stand compared [to Yuki Tsunoda]?

"And then for the future, what do the driver pairings look like for both of our teams?"