The Singapore Grand Prix marked the end of the road for Ricciardo in F1 with the squad confirming his exit in the days that followed.
Lawson has been promoted in his place following a stint as reserve driver, and off the back of an impressive five-race cameo last year.
With just six races remaining, it sees the New Zealander dropped into the deep end with high expectations from Red Bull management.
“Basically, they’re expecting me to perform at least as well as Yuki [Tsunoda], I would say, is what the goal is from the team,” Lawson told the F1 Nation podcast.
“They want me to match him and basically perform. They want points.
“Obviously, the team is fighting for sixth in the constructors’, and that’s quite important for VCARB, so to basically score points is the goal.
“If we’re scoring points, then I think, at that point, we’re basically doing a good job.
“That’s, honestly, the target that’s been set.
“But we’re always being evaluated. It’s been like this since I was 16, joining Red Bull, it’s always performance that’s always under evaluation.
“It’s no different to how it’s always been.”
Lawson has long been linked with the RB seat previously filled by Ricciardo.
Sources have suggested to Speedcafe that he was promised the drive last year as a replacement for Nyck de Vries, but missed out to Ricciardo.
There were also suggestions he was set to be in the car full-time from the start of the season but missed out as the squad again opted for Ricciardo.
With his immediate future now clear, Lawson is aware that this is his opportunity to not only solidify his place on the grid, but potentially earn a quick promotion to Red Bull Racing alongside Max Verstappen.
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“It’s not in my mind,” Lawson said of the potential of driving for Red Bull Racing next season.
“But I’m definitely aware that, being in the second team of Red Bull Racing, that the future, if I do a good job, is going to be going there.
“My goal is to go to Red Bull Racing in the future and I know that obviously, from their side as well, they’re trying to look for the future, for when either Max or Checo [Perez] eventually go somewhere.
“They always need drivers to be ready for that, so I’m basically aware that, if I do a good job, that’s where my future is.
“When that can happen, that’s not something I’m really thinking about, because I know that it’s going to completely depend on how I go in my current seat.”
In his favour is that, while under intense pressure to now deliver at the highest level, it’s not a new experience.
The Red Bull driver program is notoriously cut-throat, something Lawson has been exposed to since his formative years.
“The hardest part is when you’re very young,” he said of the Red Bull program.
“For me, when I was 16 and 17 years old and 17 years old, my first year with Red Bull was going from not being with a junior team and just having my guys from New Zealand who have helped me get to where I was at that point, to then have Red Bull Racing and have Dr. Marko calling and putting the pressure on you.
“That was what I really struggled to deal with.”
“It’s normally a 6 am phone call or something like that,” he added of the management style of Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko.
“It’ll be, ‘You need to perform better next weekend. If you don’t perform better, you’re in trouble’.
“You know you need to basically win races. It’s quite often if you haven’t had a good race, ‘If this continues, you may not have a future with this team’. It’s very cutthroat.
“But, honestly, dealing with that, I’m so thankful to have gone through that with Helmut, honestly.
“Because to now be at this point and going into F1, it’s a huge amount of pressure to step in.
“Without having that kind of pressure from a young age, I don’t think stepping in this late the season, or stepping in like last year, for example, I don’t think I would have been able to deal with it without having gone through five years of having Helmut.”
Lawson heads into this weekend’s United States Grand Prix with a grid penalty looming.
As the Kiwi has replaced Ricciardo, he inherits the Australian’s pool or power unit elements, which RB looks set to refresh this weekend.
That looks set to ensure Lawson starts from the back of the grid on his F1 return.
The United States Grand Prix is a sprint weekend too, leaving just an hour of practice running before competitive sessions begin on Friday afternoon.
Opening practice at Circuit of The Americas begins at 12:30 local time on Friday (04:30 AEDT Saturday).
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