Christian Horner and RB CEO Peter Bayer refused to back Liam Lawson‘s prospects for a full-time Formula 1 drive in 2025, instead praising current RB incumbents Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo who sit 10th and 14th in the championship after the Monaco Grand Prix.
Lawson enjoyed a mightily impressive spell replacing the injured Ricciardo at AlphaTauri (now RB) for six races in 2023 to heap pressure on Red Bull management, prompting special advisor Helmut Marko to hint he was almost guaranteed a full-time driver in 2025.
However, Red Bull boss Horner – a long-time ally of Ricciardo – refused to commit to the Lawson while RB‘s Bayer said they’re not ‘wasting time’ considering other options apart from the Australian and Tsunoda right now.
“Liam‘s an extremely valuable member of the team,” Bayer told select members of the press, including Total-Motorsport.com. “He’s with us every weekend obviously, he’s doing a lot of work in the simulator.
“But as I said before, currently we have two drivers in the cars, we’re finding performance with the two and we really do not discuss the 2025 situation because we’re in a luxury situation of having that strong grassroots pyramid behind us.
“So the focus is really on track, on the next couple of races until definitely the summer break.”
More from the Singapore GP
Catch up with Total Motorsport's latest Singapore GP coverage, including Max Verstappen's victory at Marina Bay, Ferrari's costly strategy gamble, the full race classification, and the updated 2026 Formula 1 Drivers' and Constructors' Championship standings.
Horner: Red Bull with plenty of options
While Lawson shone in each one of his F1 weekends in 2023, the Singapore GP was his standout as he knocked Max Verstappen out of Q2 and went on to finish ninth in just his third grand prix.
That result in the 15th round of the season was the best race placing of any AlphaTauri driver up to that stage, and would only be bettered three times by the end of the year in a remarkable super sub showing.
However, Lawson‘s Super Formula season alongside his F1 commitments was almost as impressive. In a championship traditionally dominated by Japanese drivers, Lawson was just eight points away from becoming only the second non-native champion since the series rebranded in 2013.
Even as runner-up, it was the best performance by a foreigner since compatriot Nick Cassidy‘s 2019 championship win and it was reminiscent of Pierre Gasly‘s campaign that earned the Frenchman his own F1 full debut.
“They’re all Red Bull racing drivers and we’re only [at] race eight, so still plenty of time,” Horner added. “It’s good to see the youngsters performing well, and it’s good to have that that competition as well.
“Liam is undoubtedly keen to get back into a race situation, drivers in Formula Two are performing well at the moment, Formula Three likewise, so we have a strong vein of talent.”
