The 2023 Formula 1 season is proving to be the year of the rookies. While Logan Sargeant is enduring a rather horrendous and expensive stint with Williams, the other two drivers, Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson, have been absolute dynamites, with their explosive racing skills bringing about crucial results for their teams. Unfortunately, despite portraying such stupendous racing skills, Lawson is staring at an uncertain future in the sport.
The young Kiwi, currently competing in Super Formula, found himself filling in for Daniel Ricciardo at the Dutch Grand Prix. Of course, having to match the level of a race-winner is never a straightforward task for a debutant. However, to everyone’s surprise, Lawson was up to speed in no time, and the young New Zealander was almost on par with his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda heading into qualifying.
Just outside points today coming home P11.. Thank you @AlphaTauriF1 for all the hard work over the weekend 🇯🇵🙌🏽@redbull | @RodinCars | Giltrap Group | @Cumulo9 | Tony Quinn Foundation | Turners Cars | Porter Group CE pic.twitter.com/qpLbWhAu7N
— Liam Lawson (@LiamLawson30) September 24, 2023
And now, three race weekends in, Lawson has the best finishing position for AlphaTauri this season with an astounding P9 at Singapore. But, that’s not it. Lawson also managed to finish ahead of Tsunoda at the Japanese Grand Prix. Hence, the debate arose – who should really be driving for AlphaTauri next year?
While Tsunoda was initially on stand-by amid Lawson’s insane form, Honda somehow managed to convince Red Bull to extend their partnership with the Japanese driver, subsequently leaving the promising rookie out of contention for a seat in 2024. However, there’s a twist in the tale.
Will Liam Lawson return to the F1 grid in 2025?
According to reports, Lawson has been guaranteed a seat for 2025, although it is quite unclear where the driver will end up. While the odds of seeing Lawson in AlphaTauri in 2025 are reasonably high, one wouldn’t really want to negate the scenario of witnessing him in a Red Bull suit either.
Liam Lawson since joining F1:
🇳🇱 P13
🇮🇹 P11
🇸🇬 P9
🇯🇵 P11Another statement performance. pic.twitter.com/wrvbkNRS1u
— formularacers (@formularacers_) September 24, 2023
This leads us to another question – Who will Red Bull sacrifice? As of now, the fingers firmly point at Sergio Perez, who just doesn’t seem strong enough to break out of the chains. The Mexican is becoming increasingly prone to mistakes, with Singapore and Japan proving a crash-fest. Perez collided with numerous cars in a span of two weekends, with one costing DNF while the other costing crucial championship points.
Meanwhile, Lawson has been delivering clean races, hardly ever falling into controversies. Hence, amidst such a uniquely interesting start to the Formula 1 journey, can Lawson find his way back on the grid in a year’s time? Only time will tell.