Christian Horner says Red Bull rookie Liam Lawson has done an outstanding job as Daniel Ricciardo's substitute at AlphaTauri, but the Kiwi will likely need to wait to become a full-time Grand Prix driver.
Lawson was called up at the last hour by Red Bull to replace Ricciardo following the latter's crash in FP2 at Zandvoort in which the Aussie fractured his left hand.
And the 21-year-old's performances are improving with each passing race as he demonstrated in Singapore last weekend when he qualified among the top ten and claimed his maiden championship points in the race.
With Ricciardo still in recovery mode, Lawson is undertaking his third race with AlphaTauri this weekend in Japan and it is anticipated that he'll remain with the team for next month's Qatar Grand Prix.
Horner has been impressed with Lawson's performances, insisting the young gun has so far "done a tremendous job" with AlphaTauri.
"He was dropped in, in the rain, in Zandvoort, that was a bit of an eye-opener for him, but I thought he did pretty well there," said the Red Bull Racing team boss.
"And then a week later in Monza he was unlucky to miss out on a point.
©AlphaTauri
"Seeing Singapore for the first time and scoring a couple of points, he’s a gritty racer, we know that about him and I think he’s grabbed this opportunity in Formula 1.
"Very seldom do 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. He’s made a good start to this weekend and we’ll see how that continues.”
Ahead of this weekend's round of racing at Suzuka, Lawson said that he would not be happy to return to a reserve role with Red Bull next season.
Yet it looks like such will be his fate. Yuki Tsunoda is set for a fourth season with AlphaTauri while Ricciardo appears to be Red Bull's preferred choice to fill the team's second seat.
"We’ve got a luxury problem," added Horner. "We’ve got three into two in that team, obviously it’s an AlphaTauri issue. But it’s three great drivers and 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."
©AlphaTauri
On paper, only one seat remains to be filled on the grid for 2024, and that's Williams where Logan Sargeant's future is still in doubt.
Could Red Bull possibly loan out its protégé to another team next year to fast-track his full-time involvement in F1?
"If there was a seat, I think there’s only one seat left available, we’ve done that in the past when, for example, Carlos Sainz went on loan to the previous Renault team," said Horner.
"But 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."
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