Liam Lawson offers ‘honest’ verdict on leaving Red Bull for Williams in 2024

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Liam Lawson has now addressed the chances of him leaving Red Bull and AlphaTauri to secure a rival 2024 drive in Formula 1 amid links to replace Logan Sargeant at Williams.

Only one seat on the grid remains up for grabs in 2024 after Red Bull elected against naming Lawson as a full-time driver with AlphaTauri. The 21-year-old has put the Formula 1 paddock on alert with his results in recent rounds. But he has now returned to his reserve driver role.

Lawson stepped in at the last minute at the Dutch Grand Prix after Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand in FP2. Red Bull saw no reason to hurry the 34-year-old’s return, so kept Lawson in the AlphaTauri. Yet Ricciardo is now set to regain his seat at the United States GP on October 22.

Williams could replace Sargeant with Lawson for 2024

Ricciardo only contested two Grand Prix after replacing Nyck de Vries at AlphaTauri this July. Yet he did enough to convince Red Bull to pair him with Yuki Tsunoda at the Faenza team for 2024. Even though Lawson has since out-performed Tsunoda in four of his five Grand Prix.

Now, Lawson faces another year as a reserve in 2024 with only Williams yet to confirm their line-up. Alex Albon remains under contract in Grove through next season. But Sargeant is in a fight for his Formula 1 career and must show Williams he merits a second year in their car.

Sargeant has endured a frustrating rookie campaign and remains the only full-time driver to not score a point this year. The 22-year-old came closest with his P11 finish at the British GP in July. But Williams could opt to drop Sargeant and pursue a deal with Red Bull for Lawson.

What has Lawson said about leaving the Red Bull family?

Williams struck a deal with Red Bull for Albon to leave the Milton Keynes outfit’s stable from the 2022 season. The London-born Thai also no longer has any links with Red Bull. It is likely that Williams will need a similar deal with Red Bull to see Lawson replace Sargeant in 2024.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has already stated that ‘it’d be unlikely’ for Lawson to join Williams on loan. Sargeant’s seat is the only full-time drive in Formula 1 still available for the 2024 season. So, Lawson also now admits that he does not know if a deal is possible.

Instead, Lawson expects to spend the 2024 season as a reserve driver for both Red Bull and AlphaTauri again. Talks remain ongoing between the New Zealander’s camp and Red Bull on the format of that role. So, the door for Williams to replace Sargeant with Lawson is closing.

“It’s more or less being discussed and sort of being planned out,” Lawson told GPblog. “But for me, it’s reserve [driver] at this stage. So, I’ll carry on going to all the Formula 1 races.

“But, outside of that, it’ll be normal simulator work. And other than that, I’m honestly not sure right now. I don’t know [about leaving the Red Bull family], honestly.”