Red Bull team principal Christian Horner told Liam Lawson in 2023 that he would have the chance to drive for one of their teams in 2024, after his successful stint as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement for a few races .
Dr Helmut Marko had also proclaimed it in the media on several occasions but never Christian Horner.
“The idea of me getting behind the wheel is something Christian talked to me about a year ago,” Lawson said.
“When I got out of the car, that’s one of the things he said to me, he said, ‘I give you my word that I’ll have you racing at some point next year ‘. So I always knew that was the intention and we talked about it.”
However, Lawson said he was unsure who he would end up replacing until the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, when he learned that Ricciardo would not finish the season in Red Bull’s second F1 team.
But could it have been instead of Sergio Perez? Lawson does not answer the question directly.
“As you know, Formula 1 is a roller coaster and every weekend things change. So one minute it looks really good and then it doesn’t and it all depends on how the guys actually behave.”
“It’s a bit horrible to be honest, because I wonder what my chances of driving are and that depends entirely on the performance of the drivers who are currently driving. And I obviously don’t want anyone’s crash to be a means to let me in, but for me to drive, someone has to leave, that’s obvious.”
The New Zealander finally praised the way Ricciardo handled the previous race weekend in Singapore, amid speculation it would be his last race.
“He’s helped me, honestly, a lot over the last 12 months. And he’s been very good about the whole situation in Singapore, and I guess we both knew how it was going to go when all this happened, and in the media.”
“And that’s honestly why I wasn’t really on my phone too much. It’s not something that bothers me too much. I have a lot of things to focus on, obviously before the last six races, and that That’s honestly what I was thinking.”
“I don’t really have the ability to handle the rest. But Daniel did it well, even if it was hard for him not to be clear about what was going to happen.”
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