Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson has been waiting to get a Formula 1 seat ever since he signed for the role in 2022. He did get a chance to drive the AlphaTauri (now Visa Cash App RB) in 2023, but it was only for a few races as he had replaced Daniel Ricciardo, who had suffered an injury. Having been associated with the team for over five years, the New Zealander has now revealed that he won’t hesitate to look outside the Red Bull stable if an opportunity presents itself.
Motorsportweek quoted Lawson as saying, “But my dream is to be in Formula 1, and if it can’t be with them, then obviously, I need to try and make that happen with somebody else.”
The 22-year-old admitted that ideally he still wants to drive the Red Bull as they are the most competitive team, but his dream is to be in Formula 1. Lawson is one of the favorites to secure an F1 seat sometime in the future after he delivered an impressive cameo in his five races in 2023 when he replaced Ricciardo.
Following his impressive cameo, he became one of the top candidates to take the seat next to Yuki Tsunoda at Visa Cash App RB (V-CARB). Despite that, the team decided to retain their lineup with Ricciardo and Tsunoda, and Lawson was therefore demoted back to the reserve driver role.
Does Liam Lawson have any chance of getting the F1 seat in 2025?
Liam Lawson’s impressive performance earned the team two points last season. He finished a fantastic ninth in the Singapore GP and was not left unnoticed. Speaking recently, Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko told the media that the 22-year-old will have an F1 seat no later than the 2025 season.
This suggested that V-CARB would either replace Daniel Ricciardo or Yuki Tsunoda. Therefore, it most likely will all boil down to the performance of these two drivers this season.
So far, the pressure is higher on Ricciardo’s side of the garage as the Japanese star has constantly outperformed him in the current season. Despite his exciting return to the track in 2023, Ricciardo has had quite an underwhelming start to the current campaign.
F1 experts have also explained that the Honey Badger desperately needs to improve as Red Bull does not hesitate to replace drivers. Furthermore, since the motive of Red Bull’s sister team is to bring in young talents on the grid, they perhaps would not hesitate to replace Ricciardo, who is already 34.
