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The outing was initially billed as a shootout between the pair for a potential promotion to Red Bull Racing in place of Perez.
With the Mexican confirmed as remaining alongside Max Verstappen, for now, and Ricciardo at RB, the intent of the outing changed.
Officially, it was a filming day, allowing RB to operate a current-spec car for 200km.
It was planned to have both Ricciardo and Lawson complete 100km of running each about the VCARD01, with the latter also cutting laps in a 2022-spec AlphaTauri.
However, sources have confirmed to Speedcafe that the New Zealander did not drive the latest machine and instead spent the day at the wheel of the older AT03.
Both Ricciardo and Lawson were on track together for filming, Lawson’s car decked out in an RB livery rather than its original AlphaTauri war paint.
In the afternoon, Yuki Tsunoda climbed aboard the VCARB01 in place of Ricciardo, with the day wrapping around 16:30 local time.
The original plan was that Lawson would share duties with Ricciardo in something akin to a shootout.
The pair were to be directly compared to each other with a view to how they both fit into Red Bull’s future plans.
It’s understood that, even as Red Bull Racing packed up in Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday evening, Perez remained on the outer.
However, a meeting between Christian Horner and Helmut Marko on Monday saw that position changed.
The workforce in Milton Keynes is believed to have been subsequently informed and quickly found its way into the media.
While Perez remains in place at Red Bull Racing, it’s understood that is not a guarantee he will see out the season.
Furthermore, it’s been suggested the Imola outing still had relevance to 2025, with Ricciardo still unsigned.
For now, Red Bull Racing and RB will head to the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of the month with unchanged line-ups, with Lawson’s future uncertain.
