Lawson outlines Red Bull’s expectation of him as he prepares for F1 return in Austin

Liam Lawson has detailed what Red Bull are expecting of him as he prepares to step into the RB for the final six races of the season, with the New Zealander stating that he has “no idea” if this stint will act as an opportunity for him to potentially race for the senior team in 2025.

It was confirmed in the days after the Singapore Grand Prix that Lawson would replace Daniel Ricciardo at the squad for the remainder of the 2024 campaign, meaning that the 22-year-old will make his return to the grid this weekend in Austin.

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In terms of how he is approaching the six Grands Prix that he will compete in, Lawson has suggested that points will be the main focus both for himself and the team.

“I think it’s not as simple as a position or ‘this is where I want to be’,” he explained during Thursday’s driver press conference in Austin when asked about the goals he has set himself for the rest of the season.

“It’s scoring points, mainly for myself because that’s what the team’s going to judge me on.

“It’s how I perform and the best way to do that is to score points. Also for the team, fighting for P6 in the [constructors'] championship as well. So basically trying to get into the points as soon as possible for me is the goal.”

With Christian Horner previously acknowledging that Red Bull are looking at the “bigger picture” of both the main team and RB’s future driver line-ups as they assess Lawson’s performance against Yuki Tsunoda, Lawson was quizzed on whether he had been given any indications of what he can do during the next few races to stake a claim on a seat at the leading squad next year.

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“I think that’s very far ahead, honestly,” the new RB driver responded. “The target or the goal that’s been set out is the same as it’s always been since I was 17 and I joined the [Red Bull Junior] programme. It’s all performance based and that’s basically how they’ll be looking at [it].

“Obviously Yuki’s done a really good job the last couple of years, especially this year, and he’s the benchmark for them to compare me against – he’s the only one in the same car as me, so I’ll be directly compared with him.

“I guess the goal or the expectation from them is for me to compete alongside him. In terms of where that sets me out for next year or in the future, I have absolutely no idea, but that’s the target that’s been set out.”

While Lawson previously competed in five races during 2023 as he substituted for Ricciardo when the Australian suffered a broken hand, the returning driver has acknowledged that stepping into the car at this stage of the season will be a challenge.

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Reflecting on how he has spent the weeks since his comeback was confirmed, Lawson explained: “It’s been busy. It was strange to have a gap at this point of the year I think. Obviously the gap for me was filled up with quite a lot of stuff.

“It’s just [been about] preparing as much as possible. It’s a difficult time to come into the season, obviously a Sprint weekend this weekend, a new track, end of the season. [So I’m] just trying to be as ready as possible.”