Red Bull denies rumors that Liam Lawson is guaranteed a seat for 2025

Liam Lawson might drive for AlphaTauri for the Qatar GP before returning to Superformuala.

Red Bull denies rumors that Liam Lawson is guaranteed a seat for 2025

Christian Horner and Liam Lawson (Via IMAGO)

AlphaTauri announced their driver lineup for the 2024 season during the Japanese GP. Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo are securing seats for one more season. As a result, Liam Lawson found himself without a seat for yet another year despite huge performances. Speculation in the F1 nations suggested the possibility of Red Bull guaranteeing Lawson a seat for 2025. However, Red Bull’s Team Principal, Christian Horner, dismissed any assumptions.

Liam Lawson initially served as a reserve driver for Red Bull Racing. Before joining Red Bull, Lawson competed in the Formula 2 championship. He debuted with Alphatauri when he temporarily replaced Daniel Ricciardo for a few races while Ricciardo was recovering from the Dutch GP crash. In a short period, Lawson showcased his talent and even earned his first F1 points, outperforming more experienced drivers who had yet to score any points in the 2023 season. 

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However, despite Liam Lawson’s impressive performance, Red Bull did not grant him a seat in the 2024 driver lineup, and he will continue in his role as a reserve/test driver. Christian Horner acknowledged that they would continue to develop Liam Lawson in his test and reserve role, as he remained a potential candidate for the 2025 season.

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“There are no guarantees of anything in life. He’s done exactly what we could have asked for in terms of grabbing the opportunity in Daniel’s absence to really show his capability,” said Christian Horner, as reported by crash.net

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Christian Horner says Liam Lawson might drive another race with AlphaTauri

Daniel Ricciardo suffered a wrist injury during the Dutch Grand Prix, leading to his replacement by Liam Lawson. There were rumors of Ricciardo returning for the Qatar Grand Prix, but Christian Horner stated that it is highly unlikely that he will be able to make a comeback for that weekend.

Liam Lawson (Via IMAGO)
Liam Lawson (Via IMAGO)

He said, “His recuperation is going well but he’s fixed in the seat for next year, does he need to rush a hasty return for Qatar where maybe another couple of weeks for Austin,…. it might be better to use that time in preparation”

Horner also stated that Ricciardo has expressed his intention to return for the Qatar Grand Prix. He explained that they will first conduct simulator testing and base their decisions on the results. However, it seems highly possible that Liam Lawson will continue to drive in another race until Ricciardo makes a full recovery.

“I know he’s got his sights fixed on Qatar, he’ll drive the simulator next week and then we’ll make some decisions based on that,” concluded Christian Horner

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