Liam Lawson, the reserve driver for the Red Bull team, has expressed his willingness to explore other opportunities if he cannot fulfill his “dream” of a full-time Formula 1 seat within the Red Bull team. Despite delivering impressive performances during his temporary season as a substitute for Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull chose to retain Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo as their drivers for the revamped RB team. As a result, Lawson finds himself back in the reserve driver role. While his ideal scenario is to enter Formula 1 through the Red Bull development program, Lawson acknowledges that he may need to consider other options if there is no opening in the team. He remains determined to secure a spot on the grid for the 2025 season.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko has already assured Lawson that he will be on the grid “at the latest by 2025”, indicating the possibility of him replacing Tsunoda or Ricciardo. Therefore, the performances of Red Bull’s current drivers will play a crucial role in determining Lawson’s future prospects. So far, Tsunoda has outperformed Ricciardo in the first three races of this season, putting the Australian driver under pressure to improve his results and match Tsunoda’s performance. Ricciardo has expressed his ambition to return to the Red Bull team, from which he departed at the end of 2018, but it seems that Sergio Perez, whose contract expires in 2024, is currently in a favorable position to retain his place alongside reigning champion Max Verstappen.