Liam Lawson Reveals Christian Horner & Co. Ruined His “Special” F1 Stint

Liam Lawson, the benched driver for AlphaTauri, showcased a decent debut with the team as Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand. Ricciardo had a crash during the FP2 of the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, which gave Lawson his debut behind an F1 car. The driver qualified 20th but managed to finish 13th place in his debut race. However, after a few races in an F1 car, Ricciardo claimed back his seat, and Red Bull TP Christian Horner had to break the news to the rookie.

During Lawson’s time driving, he managed to score points in his last race in Singapore coming in 9th after setting a career best time in Q2. Despite his performance, his dreams were crushed before they started. Following the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, his team gave him news that ended his dreams of racing as a full-time F1 driver.

Liam Lawson is disappointed with his debut

Liam Lawson is benched for the newly branded Visa Cash App Red Bull Racing, or VCARB for short. Currently, his career depends on if his teammates are unable to drive, and that’s not a great feeling. The Kiwi was invited to the Sky Sports Podcast, where while the main topic was discussing Oliver Bearman’s debut, the attention turned towards Lawson’s debut last year.

During the podcast, Lawson told Matt Baker and Ted Kravitz, “Singapore was also a bit tough because, honestly, all of those moments were really special. But in the back of my mind, it was really hard to enjoy them because it was that Saturday right before qualifying that I… I was told I wasn’t going to be driving this year.”

Further explaining what went on in his mind, he said, “So, obviously, I was in Formula 1. I was trying to prove myself, and I knew in the back of my mind that they were probably going to pick Daniel and Yuki for this year. But I still felt like I had an opportunity to maybe change that decision, and I got told right before qualifying that that was not going to be the case.”

“But I knew that, you know, at the end of the day, the whole goal is to try and get a Formula 1 seat. That’s what I’m doing this for. And, you know, I knew that wasn’t going to happen this year. So, honestly, took away from that a little bit,” he concluded. But now the question stands: when will Liam Lawson get his chance to get on the grid again?

Liam Lawson’s possible Red Bull debut

Currently, Liam Lawson’s chance to drive for Red Bull lies in the hands of Sergio Perez. Checo has been under pressure as he has accumulated 8 penalty points to his name. If he were to reach 12 points, he would get a one-race suspension.

In the event of that happening, Red Bull would most likely call in Liam Lawson to drive alongside Max Verstappen. This could be a great opportunity for the driver as he got to drive an AlphaTauri last year which was quite difficult for him. Driving in arguably the best car on the circuit will give him a chance to shine and maybe outshine Oliver Bearman’s infamous debut.

That being said, would you like to see Liam Lawson and Oliver Bearman go head-to-head as the newest drivers in Formula One? Who do you think would win? Let us know in the comments below.

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