One Red Bull star might have a shot at a full-time Formula 1 seat in 2025 with Visa Cash App RB.
Team principal of VCARB Laurent Mekies has been discussing the chances of a junior driver's chances of a promotion, with Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda currently in the team's two race seats.
Both are out of contract at the end of this season and have no guarantees of a future with the team beyond this campaign.
Typically seen as the breeding ground of Red Bull talent, the next crop of junior graduates are storming their way through the likes of Formula 2 and 3, knocking on the door of VCARB.
But one man who has fully progressed through the ranks and even driven a Formula 1 race is Liam Lawson, who is in the hunt for a drive after he showed his impressive talents last season.
In the end he was overlooked for a seat this year, but a year with Red Bull as their reserve driver will have given him a chance to learn and should leave him in good stead when he enters the grid.
Liam Lawson is on the sidelines in 2024Laurent Mekies is VCARB boss
Mekies: Liam did impress everyone
Speaking about Lawson’s impressive debut and his future prospects, Mekies delivered high praise about the way he conducted his business in 2023.
“Liam did impress everyone last year,” he told the Beyond the Grid podcast. “I was watching TV, during the garden leave. And in Zandvoort it’s raining, it’s as bad as it gets and he made it. That’s the beauty of it. I guess as fans, we love these racing drivers.
“You put them in the most awkward, difficult positions and they need to perform at that very moment. Bam, they do it and that’s what he did.”
Discussing a future F1 seat, Mekies said: "We will see if the opportunity comes.
“We have very talented reserve drivers, we are taking every opportunity to put him in the car. He drove in Imola last month with the 2022 car.
“He is going to be with us pretty much every weekend and is driving for us in the simulators. We are trying to grow him as much as we can.”
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