Liam Lawson understands why Scuderia AlphaTauri elected not to promote him to a full-time F1 race drive for 2024.
The New Zealander proved a revelation during his five-race stint in place of the injured Daniel Ricciardo.
He scored points in Singapore in what was the team’s best race of the season to that point and beat team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in four of their five races together.
It was an impressive start for Lawson but it wasn’t enough to convince team bosses to give him a shot for 2024.
Instead, Scuderia AlphaTauri will carry on with Ricciardo and Tsunoda with Lawson looking at another year on the sidelines, and potentially a year without racing.
The decision not to promote the 22-year-old was the third time he’d been overlooked after Nyck de Vries was given the opportunity at the start of the year, and then Ricciardo when Red Bull decided to replace the Dutchman.
“What’s potentially helped through each scenario is, yes, it’s extremely frustrating, but I’ve been able to sit there and go ‘I can understand at the time of this decision why this makes sense’,” Lawson told Tom Clarkson on the Beyond the Grid podcast.
“And that goes back to de Vries last year; at that point we were having a shocking F2 season, and we turned it around at the end but it was all loot late.
“Had a really good end of the season, I had good testing in F1, but by then the decision’s made, so that’s frustrating.
“But at the time that the decision was made, I think I could sit there and understand why, just because of how my season was.
“This year as well, although I’m having a much better season, you have the option mid-season in a team that’s struggling quite a bit, at least with the car.
“You have an option of somebody who’s never been in Formula 1 to jump in mid-season or somebody who’s very experienced in Formula 1 and won races.
“So again, it’s frustrating to take but I can sit there and go ‘okay, I can make sense of this decision and I understand it’.”
Alongside his role as reserve driver for both Scuderia AlphaTauri and Red Bull Racing in 2023, Lawson competed in Super Formula.
The New Zealander finished second in the championship with two wins to his name but suggested it’s unlikely he’ll return for 2024.
“I’ve raced in most championships,” Lawson reasoned of his 2024 programme.
“Now I’ve even been in F1, I can’t really go and do F2 again, there’d be no point, I can’t do Super Formula again – I could but there’s less benefit from doing it…
“So I think it’s full focus on being reserve,” he added.
“That means a lot of simulator which, for me, I think what helps getting into Formula 1 and adjusting to it so quickly as been [that] I’ve been two years now nearly as reserve, so I’ve done lots of simulator work.
“That will just continue now into next year. And getting to learn and basically aboard being alongside the best time in Formula 1 right now, I get to sit through all the meetings and learn how they operate.”
Lawson is also adamant that he’ll remain within the Red Bull family rather than trying to land a race drive elsewhere.
While the F1 grid for next season is largely settled, there is at least one drive still available at Williams where Logan Sargeant has been given until the end of the year to prove himself for ’24.
“It’s frustrating to not be driving next year, but I will continue to make the most of still being in Formula 1,” Lawson said.
“I’m a Red Bull driver. If I ever get a chance in Formula 1 it’ll be through Red Bull Racing most likely at some point.
“I don’t know, honestly, but I think it would be with Red Bull that they give me my shot.”
