Red Bull team principal Christian Horner feels Liam Lawson is facing “a golden moment in his career” and has urged him to make the most of the opportunity.
Lawson has effectively been overlooked twice by Red Bull for a seat at AlphaTauri – initially when it opted to recruit Nyck de Vries at the end of last season, and again when it chose to sack the Dutch driver after just 10 races and install Daniel Ricciardo.
Ricciardo’s misfortune in breaking a bone in his left hand in a practice crash ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix finally gave Lawson his chance, albeit in at the deep end given the conditions that prevailed at Zandvoort over the weekend.
The 21-year-old New Zealander performed admirably to bring the car home in tricky conditions, and now has a second chance in this weekend’s Italian GP at Monza to show he has a future in the sport at some point.
“In very difficult circumstances, in a car he’d never driven, and obviously having missed out on Friday running at a tricky track in rainy conditions, it was very tough for him,” reflected Horner on Lawson’s full debut performance.
“But I thought he acquitted himself very well, very maturely, and did a solid job during the race. He ticked all the boxes.”
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It remains to be seen if he can now thrust himself into contention for a possible 2024 seat with AlphaTauri.
Ricciardo will return to the cockpit of the AT04 once fit, with the Australian then expected to further prove himself in however many races may be available in order to earn a contract for next year.
Additionally, there are no guarantees for Yuki Tsunoda, who is in his third season in F1 this year, although the Japanese driver has at least scored all three of the team’s points to date.
At this stage, Lawson is now out of the running.
“It’s a great opportunity for him,” added Horner. “For any driver to get themselves in a grand prix car, you’ve got to make the most of it, and this is a golden moment in his career for him to demonstrate what he’s capable of.
“We’re obviously following his progress very closely, with Daniel’s misfortune now Liam’s good fortune.
“It’s down to him to make the best use of it.”
Although Red Bull called on Ricciardo to replace De Vries after barely half a day of a Pirelli tyre test at Silverstone two days after the British Grand Prix, Lawson can understand their reasons for doing so.
“I was obviously still in my own season, and I was told that as well,” said Lawson, referring to his Super Formula campaign in which he remains in the hunt for the title.
‘With (regard to) the reason behind choosing Daniel, somebody as experienced as him, relative to somebody who’s never driven in Formula 1, it made more sense, for sure.
“The only thing I care about are my chances of a future in Formula 1, and that was my first question, and basically what I was focused on.”
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