Liam Lawson stunned everyone when he knocked Max Verstappen out of a Q3 berth in Singapore in 2023. Driving for AlphaTauri, Lawson derailed expectations for Verstappen, by limiting him to a P11 start for the Grand Prix. For a rookie like him, this was massive but Red Bull seemingly didn’t reward him enough.
Lawson’s cameo as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo was nothing short of spectacular. The New Zealander’s performance as a substitute was so nice, that he expected a full-time F1 seat for 2024. He outperformed Yuki Tsunoda fairly convincingly during his short stint. Unfortunately, Red Bull crushed this dream. As soon as Ricciardo had recovered, they gave him back the seat. What’s more, they announced the Aussie and Tsunoda as the pairing for 2024.
Singapore was the outing when Lawson learned that he wouldn’t be driving in F1 the next year. Hence, despite the qualifying heroics and a subsequent points finish, Lawson couldn’t enjoy to his fullest.
Speaking about this recently, Lawson said to Sky Sports, “In the back of my mind it was really hard to enjoy them because it was that Saturday right before qualifying that I was told I wasn’t going to be driving this year. [2024]”
AlphaTauri was spoilt with choices regarding their 2024 seats. Ricciardo was the more experienced driver, and Red Bull wanted the Aussie in their sister team’s seat. This was seemingly because the Milton-Keynes-based outfit was eyeing him as a potential replacement for the then out-of-form Mexican driver, Sergio Perez.
On the other hand, Tsunoda had been in the team for three years, and gradually showed progress. However, the fact that Lawson got the better of him but still ended up behind in the pecking order didn’t sit right with him.
Liam Lawson’s chances of getting into Red Bull
Liam Lawson heavily impressed the fans and critics alike with his cameo last season. In the five races he started, he claimed two points, which was great for an AlphaTauri car that was a backmarker for the majority of the season.
Besides his stunning F1 performances, Lawson has also been impressive in the junior categories. All these make Liam Lawson a big-time contender for the AlphaTauri and Red Bull seat in the coming years.
Recently, Ferrari brought in Oliver Bearman to replace an ailing Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia. The former delivered in the race despite being unprepared and earned points for his team. This led to fans recalling Lawson’s debut some months ago.
Nonetheless, the road up ahead is full of thorns for Liam Lawson. He has Sergio Perez, Yuki Tsunoda, and Daniel Ricciardo all going strong to keep their seat for the next season.
