Liam Lawson believes the pressure associated with being a Red Bull junior is a "positive" that has helped him during his apprenticeship in Formula 1 with AlphaTauri.
Lawson was called up at the last hour by Red Bull to replace Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri following the Aussie's crash in FP2 at Zandvoort in which he fractured his left hand.
The 21-year-old Kiwi not only acquitted himself well on his debut, but his performance level has been trending higher ever since.
Lawson outqualified his experienced teammate Yuki Tsunoda in Singapore and in Japana and scored his first championship points at Marina Bay, and nearly made it into the top ten at Suzuka.
Unfortunately, Red Bull has opted to extend Tsunoda and Ricciardo's contracts with AlphaTauri for 2024, leaving Lawson to return to a reserve role with Red Bull Racing.
Over the years, many promising young drivers have come and gone from the energy drink company's young driver programme, having failed to impress over time the always ruthless Helmut Marko.
Lawson agrees that pressure is ever-present within the Red Bull environment, and impacts even its more senior members as Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon have experienced.
But Lawson, who is out to prove himself to Red Bull's top brass, believes that pressure has been beneficial in his case.
"One of the positives about being a Red Bull driver is for me, having five years in this program, it's a high-pressure program and we're put under pressure from day one," the Kiwi explained.
"I'm now used to that, it's been five years of that, so situations like this I'm ready for them.
"Honestly, right now I'm trying to just do the best job in these races that I can, I think once the stint that I have is over, then I can start looking at potentially how I've done, and what options there are, but right now I'm focused on these races."
©AlphaTauri
While he won't be on the grid at the start of next season, unless unforeseen circumstances come into play, Lawson's future is in definitely F1 insists Red Bull team boss Christian Horner.
"It’s only a matter of time before he gets his opportunity and full-time chance," Horner told Sky F1. "To have the three of them there is very strong for the group.
"I think he certainly turned heads and gave us plenty to think about, in particular following his Singapore drive.
"He’s doing everything possible to justify a case for a full-time drive but unfortunately, three into two just doesn’t go."
Pundits have speculated that Lawson could join Williams next season alongside Alex Albon. But Horner pretty much dismissed such a prospect.
"It would be unlikely that they would take a driver for one year," he said. "He’s going to focus on that test and reserve role and do as much running as he can in the background in the simulator, and we’ve seen what he’s capable of.
"He’s done the right thing. He’s grabbed that opportunity, and I said to him on Friday, ‘You’ve done everything or more that you could have’."
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
