Lawson on standby next year: 'Red Bull wants me to be able to jump in'

After five strong replacements for Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri, Liam Lawson is unsure when he will race again. Without a permanent seat for next year, things are not looking good for the New Zealander, but Lawson remains positive and hopes for a substitute drive in 2024.

Lawson took over from Ricciardo, who broke his hand in the Dutch GP weekend. Lawson impressed during the five F1 weekends he completed but is a reserve driver for 2024. The Red Bull reserve was not offered a permanent seat at AlphaTauri. To make matters worse, Lawson also has yet to confirm a seat in Super Formula, the championship he lost to Ritomo Miyata last week.

Lawson is nonetheless positive and happy to still be part of the Red Bull family. To Motorsport.com, he says his goal is obviously to race again, but the end goal is Formula 1. When he can only watch from the sidelines, he will try to prepare for his chance. That he will once again get a spot in Super Formula at Mugen is far from certain. Ayumu Iwasa is named as his replacement alongside Tomoki Nojiri, reports the Medium.

Lawson is confident of the choices Red Bull has made for him for next year. Lawson takes hope from the team's plans for him in 2024, and it looks like he will take on the reserve role for both AlphaTauri and Red Bull: "They want me to be 100% focused on being ready at any point.”