Helmut Marko has claimed Liam Lawson will join one of Red Bull’s two Formula 1 teams next year, but given no indication who he will replace.
Lawson made his F1 debut at the Dutch Grand Prix last year as a substitute for Daniel Ricciardo, who was injured in a crash during practice. During his five-race stint at the team Lawson scored their best result of the season at the time with ninth place in Singapore.
He has served as a reserve driver during 2024 but has not started a race since the Japanese Super Formula season finale at Suzuka last October. But Marko has given the strongest indication yet Lawson will be a regular F1 driver next year.
“He will certainly be in one of our cars next year,” Marko told Kleine Zeitung.
Red Bull has already re-signed Sergio Perez to drive alongside Max Verstappen at its top team next year. Yuki Tsunoda has been re-signed to drive for RB, the team Lawson made his debut for last year when it was called AlphaTauri.
That leaves only Ricciardo’s seat unaccounted for. However Perez’s poor results at Red Bull this year have raised persistent questions over his future. These were last addressed by team principal Christian Horner on the day after the previous race at Spa, where Perez fell from second on the grid to finish seventh. “Checo remains a Red Bull Racing driver despite recent speculation and we look forward to seeing him perform at tracks he has previously excelled at after the summer break,” Horner told the team last month.
However Marko said Perez’s place in the team is contingent upon him regularly delivering strong performances. “If Checo consistently brings his normal speed, we are satisfied. But he always has these fluctuations, whether in qualifying or a certain race phase. The consistency is lacking; that’s the problem.”
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