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Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has denied suggestions Liam Lawson has been guaranteed a ‘Red Bull’ drive in 2025.
Lawson has been touted as a possible replacement for Daniel Ricciardo at RB next season.
There have also been suggestions he could be promoted directly into the senior Red Bull Racing squad should Sergio Perez be unable to improve his form.
It’s a critical period for Lawson as a key option in his contract expires next month.
Red Bull motorsport advisor, Helmut Marko, has revealed that Red Bull must guarantee him a drive in F1 in September else he becomes a free agent.
He followed that with comments in the lead up to this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, telling Kleine Zeitung “He will be sitting in one of our cars next year.”
While Marko failed to specify whether that referred to Red Bull Racing or RB, while Horner has attempted to walk those remarks back.
“A drive. I asked him quite clearly, and he said he’ll have a drive in Formula 1 next season,” Horner said during an awkward interview on Sky Sports.
“Doesn’t mean… we could rent him out.”
Horner was then pressed on whether that meant he could drive for another team, amid suggestions Lawson has been in contact with Sauber.
“Nothing is fixed,” the Red Bull Racing boss stated.
“If we don’t take up the option on Liam, then he’s a free driver for 2025.
“So we’ve got specific time periods within drivers’ contracts where that becomes prevalent.
“So yes, I checked with Helmut, his comment earlier, and he said ‘No, I didn’t say which car, he just said a drive’.”
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Horner also emphasised that the pressure remains on Perez to deliver as the team looks to secure another constructors’ championship.
Red Bull Racing has seen its lead in the competition reduced to 42 points, which Horner puts down to the fact only Max Verstappen is making a meaningful contribution.
“That’s because we haven’t had both cars up there,” he said of the reduction in his team’s advantage.
“We’re aware of that. We’ve taken engine penalties, we’ve had DNFs.
“We’re very clear on what we need to do and turn around, and I’m confident we will.
“It is about performance,” he added of Perez.
“For us, we’ve got the two drivers that we believe, in our pool of drivers, are the most capable of giving us the best results.
“If there was a doubt in that, then we would have changed it.”
Perez’s immediate future was spared following a meeting the morning after the Belgian Grand Prix.
However, that was far from a free pass to the end of the season, with the Mexican expected to lift his game in the coming races.
Should he not, it then becomes a question of who could replace the 34-year-old.
Ricciardo and Lawson have both been linked to the drive, while Yuki Tsunoda has not despite out-performing his Australian team-mate at RB.
“We have all the data from all of the drivers. So we have that information,” Horner said.
“If we felt that there was something better, we would have changed it by now.
“We believe what we have is capable of defending the championship; it finished first and second in last year’s championship; it finished first and third in the year before; and, obviously won in ‘21 as well.
“You’re very quick to condemn Sergio,” he added.
“We’re trying our hardest to give him the chance to rediscover that form
“He’s a driver that’s capable of bouncing back, and we’re giving him our full support, and want to see him respond.”
