Williams’ boss claims Liam Lawson ‘absolutely deserves’ an F1 seat

The Kiwi racer Liam Lawson is turning the heads of everyone around the paddock with his impressive performance.

Williams’ boss claims Liam Lawson ‘absolutely deserves’ an F1 seat

Liam Lawson (Via IMAGO)

Liam Lawson made his Formula One debut at the Dutch GP for Alphatauri, replacing Daniel Ricciardo due to a left-hand injury he suffered during a free practice crash. Lawson was quick to adapt to the racing style of Formula One and scored his maiden point in his third race at the Singapore GP. Despite the impressive stint, Red Bull decided to keep him as a reserve driver, and his only option to make a full-time debut next year is with Williams, who is yet to sign an extension with rookie Logan Sargeant.

AlphaTauri has given a one-year contract extension to both Yuki Tsunoda and Ricciardo. The Australian will replace Lawson at the COTA circuit next week, and Lawson will be assigned the Red Bull primary reserve driver role. Now Williams boss, James Vowles, who can give Lawson a chance to debut, has admitted that the Kiwi racer deserves a full-time role. But the team also wants to give Sargeant another opportunity.

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He spoke about Lawson’s current condition, as he is probably not going to be racing for any team. Vowels said, “I think he’s absolutely deserving of a seat on this grid, and it’s a reflection, I think, of these difficult Sprint race formats, followed by one-hour sessions, followed by a lack of opportunity to grow.”

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These developments bring everyone’s attention to Sargeant’s condition at Williams for the next year. While talking about the poor performance of Sargeant this year, he admitted that Williams has a role in planning in the poor run as well. He said, as reported by formula1.com, “We have a responsibility both as a team and because we’ve brought Logan in with very minimal amounts of testing.”

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James Vowles understands Logan Sargeant needs more time to perform at the F1 level

Williams has yet to announce their second driver for next year. Logan Sargeant has been underperforming this year compared to other rookies like Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson. Sargeant even DNF’ed from the recent Qatar GP because he felt ‘unwell’ due to the heat.

Liam Lawson and Logan Sergeant (Via IMAGO)
Liam Lawson and Logan Sergeant (Via IMAGO)

Vowles said that he wants to give every opportunity possible to Sargeant. He still believes that they haven’t done it yet. This is why he is taking his time before confirming the lineup for next year. He praised Sargeant’s performance at the sole practice session at the Qatar GP.

Vowles claims that at the end of the season, he wants to be sure he can face Sargeant and tell him how he has received every opportunity possible. He also added that he needs more time to seize every opportunity on his way.

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