Liam Lawson is hoping for a full-time Formula 1 seat in 2025. He received a tantalising taste of life in the sport last year when he stood in for an injured Daniel Ricciardo at five races.
This year, Lawson has been putting Ricciardo under pressure. The Australian scored his first points of the season with a superb fourth-place finish in the Miami Grand Prix Sprint, but then slumped back to 15th in the main race.
Teammate Yuki Tsunoda has more than doubled his points tally (14) and leads the qualifying head-to-head 5-1 too. This has sparked speculation over a mid-season driver change.
One report even claimed that RB’s owners Red Bull had given him until Miami to save his drive. While Helmut Marko has said it would be ‘exciting’ to get Lawson back in the car, he’s called such reports ‘nonsense’.
Red Bull do have previous for mid-season driver swaps. Nyck de Vries, Pierre Gasly and Daniil Kvyat have all fallen victim in recent years, but Ricciardo isn’t at immediate risk.
However, Will Buxton has said a permanent drive for Lawson in 2025 is ‘almost inevitable’. Christian Horner assured him his time would come when RB announced Ricciardo and Tsunoda as their drivers for this year.
Liam Lawson says he can leave Red Bull if he doesn’t get a seat
Speaking on ESPN’s Unlapped podcast, journalist Nate Saunders shared details of a conversation with Lawson in the Miami GP paddock. He asked him about the existence of a potentially vital clause in his contract.
Saunders learned that he’ll be able to leave the Red Bull family at the end of the year if they don’t find him a drive. Lawson confirmed that such a provision exists in his deal, but isn’t expecting a swift resolution.
That’s because he’s still waiting on multiple teams to make decisions on their driver line-ups. He’s been left feeling as if he’s at the wrong end of a queue.
Saunders said: “From what we understand, Red Bull has to give him a seat this year for him to stay as part of the Red Bull programme. He’s got a clause in his contract where he could leave [if not].
“I actually spoke to Lawson and I asked him if that was true. He said ‘yeah, it is and it’s been true for a while’, but he said he feels like he’s at the back of the line, because there’s about three moves that have to happen before his career can get sorted out. He is on a few lists for a few different places.”
Where else could Liam Lawson go for 2025?
Three into two doesn’t go and RB may ultimately decide to stick with Tsunoda, one of the standout drivers of 2024, and an improving Ricciardo. That would leave Lawson looking elsewhere.
Fortunately, this is a good time to be looking for a new team. In stark contrast to last year, when the composition of the grid remained the same for the first time in F1 history, more than half the drivers are out of contract and there’s already been movement.
Alpine could potentially be tempted to make a move as Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon consider their futures. That would, however, mean overlooking reserve driver Jack Doohan, who previously competed with Lawson in F2.
Haas have a seat available after Nico Hulkenberg joined Sauber but that’s likely to go to Oliver Bearman. While Kevin Magnussen is vulnerable too, team principal Ayao Komatsu is against the idea of fielding two rookies.
Elsewhere, Williams have confirmed a long-term extension for Alex Albon but questions remain over the identity of his teammate. Much will depend on whether Mercedes youngster Kimi Antonelli joins the team.
And that just leaves Sauber, set to become Audi in 2026. If Carlos Sainz rejects the German manufacturer, Lawson could be an exciting option alongside the experienced Hulkenberg.
The post ‘He said’: Journalist shares conversation with Liam Lawson over Red Bull contract clause appeared first on F1 Oversteer.