Red Bull junior Liam Lawson insists he has no problem with AlphaTauri deciding to go with Daniel Ricciardo as a mid-season replacement for Nyck de Vries this week.
Just ten races into his rookie season, de Vries was dropped by the team after a disappointing run of performances and a failure to score any points racing alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
Lawson is the official reserve driver for the team, but they decided to appoint Red Bull third driver Ricciardo instead. The Aussie has been on the sidelines since being dropped by McLaren at the end of 2022.
Lawson said he understood the team's reasoning and that he wasn't miffed by not getting the call from Red Bull management, insisting that he had his own route to getting onto the Formula 1 grid when the time was right.
“To jump in mid-season would have been extremely tough," he told Motorsport.com this week. "In AlphaTauri’s position, they were wanting someone experienced who has been in Formula 1 for a long time.
“I’m the reserve driver this year. By the end of the year I will have been the reserve for nearly two seasons, [but] I understand their decision," the 21-year-old New Zealander stated.
In the meantime, Lawson remains focused on his current Japanese Super Formula campaign with Mugen. He's currently one point off Ritomo Miyata for the lead in the drivers championship after taking victory in this weekend's race in Fuji.
It's his third win of the season, having won on the first visit to Fuji in the season opener in April, and following that up a second victory at Autopolis in May.
“I always wanted to complete the season here,” Lawson said. “My goal was to get a seat [in Formula 1] for next year.
“But this [Super Formula] is what I am focused on. Any shot I have at Formula 1 rides on how I do here, so I have to complete the year in the best way possible and try to win this championship, which is what will give me the chance.
“I need to make sure I do everything I can to give myself the best opportunity," he added. "And then, if it doesn’t happen, I can say there’s nothing more I could have done.”
“I’m ready for Formula 1, I want a seat," he continued. “I just need a seat, and whoever’s seat it is, I don’t really care!"
The AlphaTauri is in a state of flux, with Ricciardo likely to be a stop-gap solution before Franz Tost stands down as team principal at the end of the season, to be replaced by ex-Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies.
That could lead to a total revamp of the driver line-up for next season, with Lawson likely to be in the running for a full-time race seat if that proves to be the case.
That means that any disappointment Lawson might have right now will be short-lived. "I will focus on doing the best job here so I can get that, and beyond that it’s out of my control.
"I am just focused on this, it’s what they [Red Bull] has told me to focus on as well. The expectation is for me to go and win the championship, and then we’ll discuss it.”
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