Liam Lawson has admitted that he is in the dark over whether his spell with RB over the remainder of the season could lead to a Formula 1 drive with Red Bull in 2025.
Lawson, who conducted five appearances last term, has returned to the F1 grid to complete the last six rounds this season with RB as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement.
Red Bull‘s decision to oust Ricciardo mid-season has arrived amid the team’s desire to evaluate the options available amid Sergio Perez’s continued struggles in 2024.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner revealed that Lawson will have the chance in the coming events to stake his claim to the seat alongside F1 champion Max Verstappen.
However, Lawson has divulged that Red Bull has not outlined specific targets that he needs to hit to be considered for a promotion to the senior side as soon as 2025.
Asked whether Red Bull had given him an indication of what he needs to do to earn a step up the ranks, Lawson replied: “I think that’s very far ahead, honestly.
“The target or the goal that’s been set out is the same as it’s always been since I was 17 and joined the programme.
“It’s all performance-based, and that’s basically how they’ll be looking at it.
“Obviously, Yuki’s [Tsunoda] done a very good job the last couple of years, especially this year, and he’s the benchmark for obviously them to compare me against.
“He’s the only one in the same car as me, so I’ll be directly compared with him, and I guess the goal or the expectation from him is for me to compete alongside him.
“In terms of where that sets me up for next year or in the future, I have absolutely no idea, but that’s the target that’s been set out.”
RB in tight battle with Haas
Lawson has insisted that his attention will be on boosting RB’s endeavours in the Constructors’ Championship as it holds a three-point lead over Haas in sixth place.
“I think it’s not as simple as, like, a position or, like, this is where I want to be.
“I think it’s scoring points mainly for myself because that’s what it’s going to be for.
“You know, what the team is going to judge me on is how I perform. And the best way to do that is to score points.
“Also for the team, fighting for P6 in the championship as well. So, yeah, basically trying to get the points as soon as possible for me is the goal.”
Lawson expands on USGP preparation
The introduction of the autumn break meant that Lawson was made to endure an extended wait to make his F1 comeback at this weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
“Yeah, it’s been busy, I would say,” Lawson expressed. “It was strange to have a gap at this point of the year, I think.
“Obviously, the gap for me was filled up with quite a lot of stuff. So, yeah, it’s just preparing as much as possible.
“It’s a difficult time to come into the season, obviously. Sprint weekend, this weekend, new track, end of the season. So, yeah, just trying to be as ready as possible.”
The New Zealander has admitted that a test at Mugello over the break helped to get him up to speed ahead of an intense period comprising six races in eight weeks.
“It was useful. It was useful for my neck, honestly,” he recalled.
“We did just long runs, basically. So, yeah, it was good to do, honestly, as much as I would have rathered [sic] go out and do some short runs and push.
“It was good to do longer runs and basically just get ready for the longer races in Formula 1.”
