Red Bull’s Sporting Director Jonathan Wheatley recently announced his departure from the team and revealed he will be joining the Audi project. Following Wheatley’s decision, an F1 expert has speculated about whether he can convince Liam Lawson to join Audi with him.
“There’s the possibility that he could just be going to Stake/Audi. That would also be a surprise, bearing in mind it has only just appointed Mattia Binotto and Jonathan Wheatley”, said Ian Parkes who speculated the possibility of Lawson moving away from the Red Bull family on the RN365 YouTube channel.
Liam Lawson’s future with Red Bull Racing is hanging in the balance. Despite being a strong candidate to join the VCARB team in 2025, Red Bull’s wavering stance on his potential promotion may force Lawson to explore other opportunities within the racing grid.
The uncertainty… pic.twitter.com/oOajcLpCgU
— Autodromef1 (@Autodromef1) August 5, 2024
Suggesting how Wheatley can make a difference in bringing Lawson to Audi, Parkes added, “Now whether Jonathan Wheatley has had any influence, bearing in mind he’s going to take up the Team Principal role, midway through next year at the latest. So Jonathan, with all the information that he has surrounding Liam, made a call and said, ‘Guys I’m going to take him with me next year’”.
Red Bull decided after the Belgian GP to keep Daniel Ricciardo and Sergio Perez at their respective seats for the remaining season. Hence, there aren’t any guarantees that Lawson will get a seat with either Red Bull or Visa Cash App RB for next year.
On the other hand, Audi/Stake will guarantee a seat, albeit not the most desirable one. Regardless, driving for a brand like Audi will make Lawson’s CV look better rather than just sitting on the sidelines.
Lawson’s contract allows him to make the switch to Audi
Many questions were asked when Lawson wasn’t put in the V-CARB seat for the 2024 season. The New Zealander most likely did enough to deserve a seat but had to sit out the year, given how the seat situation unfolded at Red Bull.
However, Red Bull didn’t want the talented driver to leave and gave him a new contract. It was revealed that Lawson’s contract includes a clause that allows him to leave the team if Red Bull fails to give him a seat for the 2025 season.
Lawson is ready to make the move away from Red Bull to make his F1 dream come true. Helmut Marko was recently asked about the situation and suggested a decision around the New Zealander’s future will be made in September. Marko strictly suggested that Lawson isn’t available on a loan.
