Lawson leaving Red Bull? 'There is one seat left'
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
More and more it seems clear that AlphaTauri will confirm the line-up for 2024 this weekend in Japan. As GPblog reported last week, Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo will pair up at the Red Bull's sister team next season. So for Liam Lawson - currently driving for AlphaTauri as a replacement for the injured Ricciardo - there seems to be no place in the Italian squad. But a solution for him with the Red Bull family.
Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing's team boss, has a major say in which Red Bull driver drives where. He is full of praise for the performance of his test and reserve driver, who was thrown in at Zandvoort just like that: "I think he's done an outstanding job. He dropped in the rain at Zandvoort. That was a bit of an eye-opener for him, but I thought he did well there. And then a week later in Monza, he was unlucky to miss out on a point. And then seeing Singapore for the first time and scoring a couple of points."
"He's a gritty racer. We know that about him. He's grabbed this opportunity in Formula 1 that very seldom drivers get a chance to demonstrate their talent. I think he's done a tremendous job and certainly has put himself firmly on the radar and cemented the feeling that we had about him. And he's made a good start to this weekend. We'll see how that continues," Horner said.
Where else can Lawson go?
Lawson was not in the picture for a seat at a Red Bull team. Now that the New Zealander has shown how good he is, there are increasing calls to keep him in the AlphaTauri next year as well. But as mentioned, those places seem to have been given. "We've got a luxury problem where we've got three into two in that team. Obviously, it is an AlfaTauri issue, but there are three great drivers. It's a nice headache to have. He will be a Grand Prix driver. He already is a Grand Prix driver. At some stage, whether he has to wait a little for that or not, then I think he's demonstrating that he is a talent for the future," Horner believes.
According to the team boss, Lawson is a valued member of the Red Bull family. Still, to gain experience, a temporary loan out is an option for Horner. Without naming a team, it is clear he is referring to Williams, where Logan Sargeant is unsure of his spot. "I think there's only one seat left available. We've done that in the past. For example, Carlos Sainz went on loan to the previous Renault team. If he's not sitting in a Grand Prix car next year, then he's going to have plenty on his plate with other stuff to do," Horner concluded.