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Red Bull terms are a stumbling block for Williams, Mercedes push Schumacher
Liam Lawson is not yet Williams' new driver. Where all signs seemed to be green, certain terms from Red Bull and a slight reluctance for Lawson's camp mean that Mick Schumacher remains in the picture to become a Williams driver.
Williams is diligently searching for a replacement for Logan Sargeant. The American may have squandered his final chance with yet another crash in the third free practice in Zandvoort, costing a lot of money for the team. Not only did Sargeant cause his team a headache financially, but the crash also reduces the budget for much-needed updates in the future.
Carlos Sainz will step into Sargeant's car in 2025, but Williams wants to intervene earlier. GPblog understood earlier that Williams plans to put a new driver in the car alongside Alexander Albon's as early as Monza. This is a matter of urgency, as the next Grand Prix weekend is already around the corner. So in the coming days, Williams must act quickly.
Why Williams wants Liam Lawson
Before that, James Vowles spoke to Red Bull and Mercedes at Zandvoort. At Red Bull, it was about Liam Lawson, and at Mercedes, it was about Mick Schumacher. Vowles would have preferred to put Andrea Kimi Antonelli in the car, but Mercedes does not want to rush Antonelli's entry into F1. The Italian will get into a Mercedes F1 car at Monza for FP1, on the weekend where he is also likely to be announced as a Mercedes driver for 2025.
GPblog learned that Williams' preference was for Lawson. The New Zealander impressed during his 2023 AlphaTauri fill-in for Daniel Ricciardo, showing he could also perform under that pressure. However, there is a problem with Red Bull Racing's demands. Already on Sunday, Horner, when asked by GPblog, informed that Lawson may leave but could be brought back by Red Bull at any time if necessary. Williams will obviously not agree to these terms.
This attitude from Red Bull also creates question marks in Lawson's camp, who also understand that Williams will not agree to these terms. For Williams to opt for Lawson is already remarkable, given that it thereby allows a driver more experience in 2025 when he might then step in at a rival of Williams, Visa Cash App RB.
The latter is therefore the big question: what are Red Bull's plans for Lawson? Lawson's camp hopes Red Bull will slot a spot for Liam in the team for 2025, thus also nullifying the clause in the contract. Indeed, if Lawson is not offered a spot with Red Bull by September, he may join another team. So Lawson's camp itself is also not eager to make the temporary switch to Williams, leaving the number two on the list in the picture.
Will Mick Schumacher return to Formula 1?
That number two on the list is Mick Schumacher. The German is put forward by Mercedes as an ideal candidate for Williams. With two years of experience in F1, Schumacher knows all the circuits that will still be driven on. Above all, it is also a feel-good story for Williams to temporarily bring the Schumacher name back to the sport.
The flip side of that coin, however, is that Schumacher's results in recent months do not go in his favour. Schumacher lost the infamous shootout for the Alpine seat to Jack Doohan and has been passed in the pecking order at Mercedes by Andrea Kimi Antonelli. To appoint Schumacher, Williams will also have to act quickly. Indeed, the German will be in action with Alpine's WEC team at COTA this weekend.
The ball is in Williams' court. The team clearly prefers Lawson, but will also have to get Red Bull and Lawson to agree on good terms for all parties. If the parties do not come to an agreement, then an F1 return of Schumacher cannot be ruled out either.
This article was written in collaboration with Toby Nixon
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