Lawson was thought to be in the mix to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing for the back half of the 2024 F1 season.
However, on the Monday following the Belgian Grand Prix, it was decided that the Mexican would remain in his seat alongside Max Verstappen – albeit for now.
In conjunction with that, it was confirmation that Daniel Ricciardo is also safe at RB for the balance of the year.
That leaves Lawson stranded on the sideline without a clear indication of what his future holds.
Marko wrote in his column for the Red Bull-backed Speedweek publication, “We will announce how to proceed with Liam Lawson in September.”
In the days following the Belgian Grand Prix, Lawson was in action in Imola behind the wheel of a 2022-spec AlphaTauri.
Originally, it was planned that he would share duties with Ricciardo in a current-spec RB VCARB01, but those plans changed after the meeting between Marko and Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
Instead, Ricciardo shared the VCARD01 with Yuki Tsunoda, with Lawson spending the filming day exclusively in the ’22 car.
The New Zealander is reserve driver for both Red Bull Racing and RB.
Marko has previously admitted that a clause guarantees the 22-year-old a race seat for 2025, or allows him to leave the organisation in pursuit of one.
It’s understood Lawson has held conversations with Audi about the potential of joining Nico Hulkenberg at the squad.
However, it remains possible that he will be promoted to RB next season and could still find his way onto the grid this year should Perez’s form not improve.
“Sergio Perez will continue to sit in the Red Bull Racing car after the summer break, because races are now going to tracks on which he was good last year and we are betting on stability,” Marko noted.
“He also performed well [recently], and he was very quick on Saturday at the last race weekend in Spa.
“He started from second and, according to the calculations, third place would have been possible.
“But we have seen that the tyres have broken down significantly more with him.
“He couldn’t push and there was also the fact that we only had two sets of medium tyres and a set of hard available, while the competition had two sets of hard and one set of medium tyres.
“That may have been a crucial point.”
Those comments echo what Speedcafe has learned, that the team is looking to help Perez improve in the short term, though he does remain vulnerable if he doesn’t.
For the moment, however, he is Red Bull Racing’s best bet.
“Pérez doesn’t have to get faster, but more consistent,” Marko added.
“And given the alternatives, he is still our best solution.
“Reports that his commitment stems from Liberty Media’s request that he drive in Mexico are not correct.
“Our driver selection is not based on Liberty’s intentions.”
Discussion about this post