Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko says Liam Lawson will race for either the company’s main Formula 1 team in 2025 or its sister squad RB.
Lawson, a Red Bull junior who last raced full-time in Super Formula in 2023, has been on the sidelines this season while acting as reserve driver to the energy drink giant’s two F1 teams.
Ahead of the 2024 F1 summer break, there was speculation that he could be promoted into a full-time racing role from this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix – before Red Bull opted to keep Sergio Perez alongside Max Verstappen at its main squad, with Daniel Ricciardo continuing to race with Yuki Tsunoda at RB.
But Lawson’s contractual situation with Red Bull means it must put him in a race drive for 2025 or risk losing him to another team, although it is understood it can wait until late in 2024 before making any choice.
Marko, however, has now said “there will be a decision in September” and that Lawson “will definitely be in one of our cars next year” in an interview with Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung.
As the chances of Verstappen leaving Red Bull in a shock move before his current contract expires – as had become a possibility amid the company’s F1 management war earlier in 2024 – dwindle and, with Tsunoda already confirmed as racing with RB next year, one of Perez or Ricciardo will have to make way for Lawson.
Perez also has a contract that covers 2025 but was only reprieved from a summer break axing because Red Bull is hoping he can recover the form he showed in the early rounds of the season at upcoming races where he has previously done well – specifically Monza and Baku.
If Perez fails to get close to Verstappen’s expected level in the coming trio of races that starts with this weekend’s contest at Zandvoort, pressure on the Mexican’s position will intensify again.
Ricciardo, meanwhile, had headed into the summer break under the possibility that Red Bull could either promote him to Perez’s place or ditch him in favour of Lawson at RB, before those plans were abandoned and the current status quo maintained.
The Australian, who said “obviously I didn't get a call” about replacing Perez after Red Bull’s reverse ferret, could still earn a move back to Red Bull for 2025.
Tsunoda also remains a candidate to partner Verstappen despite Red Bull’s reservations about his ability to maintain confidence as the dominant Dutchman’s team-mate.
When Marko’s comments were put to Ricciardo at Zandvoort by Autosport, he replied: “I still know that performance is, my best friend.
“And that's if I do what I know I can do and [am] capable of then it puts me in a very good position to obviously stay somewhere in the family for next year. I’ve just got to focus on that.
“Speaking on Liam - got to see him drive the car last year [after Ricciardo’s injury at Zandvoort 2023] and I do think he did a great job.
“I do think he is worthy of a seat on the grid. In a way, I'm happy for him.
“Like, if he is guaranteed a seat next year, then I think that's good, because he is a deserving driver.
“So, then what that means for me? As I said, probably a little bit unknown but, if I perform, then I'm sure they'll find a spot for me somewhere.”
Additional reporting by Jonathan Noble
