Liam Lawson, Red Bull's 22-year-old reserve driver, has revealed that team principal Christian Horner promised him that he would be given an opportunity to race in F1 at some point during the 2024 season.
Horner has stuck by his word as the Kiwi has replaced Daniel Ricciardo at Visa Cash App RB and will remain with the team until the end of the season.
This week’s US Grand Prix at Austin will mark Lawson’s return to the grid after his impressive five-race cameo with Red Bull’s sister outfit in the back half of the 2023 season, and during which he scored a top-ten finish in Singapore.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Lawson discussed the conversation he had with Horner a year ago about his prospects for 2024.
“The idea of me jumping in is something that Christian told me a year ago,” Lawson explained.
“When I stepped out of the car, that was one of the things he said to me that, he said ‘I give you my word I’ll basically have you in a race at some point next year’.
“So I always knew that was the intention and it had been talked about.”
However, Horner’s promise wasn’t tied to a specific timeline or particular driver swap, making Lawson's path to a full-time seat somewhat uncertain.
“As you know Formula 1 is a rollercoaster and every weekend things change,” he added. “So one minute it looks really good and then it doesn’t look good and it’s all depending on how the guys are actually going.
“It’s a bit horrible to be honest because you’re sitting there wondering what your chances are of driving and it completely depends on how the guys that are currently driving are doing.
“And you don’t obviously want somebody’s downfall to be your way in but for me to drive somebody has to leave, obviously.”
While Lawson was aware that a seat was being prepared for him in 2024, he wasn’t informed exactly where or when the opportunity would come.
“There was no clear route of where that was going to be though,” he said. “So it wasn’t like ’in 12 months time, you are going to switch with this person’, it was ‘in 12 months time we’re going to have you a seat, we just don’t know where yet’.
“So that was where, throughout the year, the discussions were being had and it was actually Baku time when Christian finally told me I’d be jumping in.”
Currently, Lawson’s immediate task is to perform well at RB, where he is being evaluated for a potential full-time seat in 2025. Asked what Red Bull has set as expectations for him to earn a permanent spot, Lawson was direct: “Basically they are expecting me to perform at least as well as Yuki.
“That’s the goal from the team. They want me to match him and perform. They want points. The team is obviously fighting for sixth in the constructors’ and that’s quite important for VCARB.
“So basically to score is the goal and at that point we’re basically doing a good job. Honestly, that’s the target that’s been set. But we’re always being evaluated. It’s been like that since I was 16 joining Red Bull.”
For Lawson, the pressure is nothing new. Red Bull’s driver program has a history of being highly competitive, with performance always the ultimate measure.
“It’s always performance-based,” he admitted. “We’re always under evaluation, so it’s no different really to how it’s always been.”
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