Why Liam Lawson driving is still ‘on the cards’ before the end of 2024 F1 season

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With just two more seats up for grabs on the 2025 grid, Liam Lawson is arguably one of the drivers who is likely to be considered for either having impressed during his brief debut last season.

Liam Lawson was initially on the shortlist to replace Sergio Perez when it looked like the Mexican would struggle to keep his seat after the summer break.

After Red Bull elected to keep him for continuity reasons, it appeared to be a better choice now that they are struggling with car problems and trying to get their title challenge back on track.

Helmut Marko has said that Lawson will be in a race seat next year, with an announcement expected in September over their plans for the New Zealander.

Ted Kravitz suggested that Lawson’s future could be known before Baku, and now it appears that Lawson could still be driving on the grid in the final eight races of the season according to journalist Rebecca Clancy on the Inside the Piranha Club podcast.

Liam Lawson drive for end of 2024 still ‘on the cards’

Lawson was initially under consideration as the replacement for Logan Sargeant, who was eventually replaced by Franco Colapinto after a series of disappointing results for Williams.

According to Clancy, the reason Lawson was unable to join Williams was because Red Bull wanted to keep him available in case they make any driver changes before the end of the season.

“What’s interesting is what’s happened over at Williams. They ditched Logan Sargeant after Zandvoort and one of their replacement options was to borrow Liam Lawson from the Red Bull stable until the end of the year,” said Clancy.

“Red Bull had the conversation, and then it was shut down pretty quickly. And it would appear it was shut down on the grounds that they wanted to keep Liam Lawson in their own stable just in case they needed to replace what would look like probably Perez or Daniel Ricciardo in the RB before the end of the year. So it’s certainly still on the cards that we could see Liam Lawson in the car before the end of the season.”

Red Bull ‘wary’ of dropping Liam Lawson in at unknown tracks

Part of the reason why Red Bull also objected to the Williams drive for Lawson is the unfamiliar circuits upcoming at Baku and Singapore.

While Lawson has taken part in last year’s Singapore GP, the team was wary of him being in an unfamiliar car having not run it in the simulator.

READ MORE: Who is Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Christian Horner was reportedly concerned about Lawson having a crash, which could damage his confidence ahead of a Red Bull or RB seat next season.

Lawson has recently been testing the RB20 during a Pirelli tyre test alongside Mercedes driver George Russell after the Italian Grand Prix.