Helmut Marko has gone against the word of Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, claiming that Liam Lawson has a guaranteed seat within the team’s set-up for the 2025 season at the latest.
The 21-year-old prospect stepped into the AlphaTauri team for the first time at the Dutch Grand Prix earlier this summer, making an immediate impression as a stand-in for Daniel Ricciardo, who is still recovering from a hand injury sustained at Zandvoort.
Lawson has since claimed his first career points after navigating a brutal Singapore Grand Prix, while also notching a couple of P11 finishes. This unprecedented form has led to calls for the New Zealander to become a full-time F1 driver for the 2024 season and beyond.
Unfortunately for Lawson, Red Bull opted to fill the two AlphaTauri seats with Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo for 2024 with both drivers receiving one-year contract extensions, leaving Lawson to settle for a place on the sidelines as a test and reserve driver.
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Speaking to Austrian news outlet Kleine Zeitung ahead of the Qatar Grand Prix, Marko said: “Lawson certainly has the potential to be a Grand Prix winner, as he has mastered all the tasks so far and in the most difficult conditions. He was literally thrown into the cold rain.
“He is a tough racer and one of the strongest drivers ever in a duel. With the role of reserve driver, he has a big task next year. But by 2025 at the latest, he will be in a Formula 1 car anyway.”
Marko’s certainty flies in the face of Horner’s comments earlier this week. When asked whether Lawson’s new deal included a clause guaranteeing him a seat with AlphaTauri for the 2025 season, Horner told Sky Sports News: “There’s no guarantee of anything in life.”
He continued: “I think that he’s done a great job. He’s really impressed us. He’s done exactly what we could have asked for, in terms of grabbing the opportunity, and in Daniel’s absence to really show his capability and that’s turned some heads.
“It’s done him a lot of good and I think that we’ll keep developing him when he goes back into that test and reserve role and he’ll be a candidate, certainly for 2025.”
Lawson will make his final appearance of the season this weekend at the Lusail International Circuit before Ricciardo returns to the cockpit in time for the trip to Texas for the United States Grand Prix.
