Liam Lawson hasn’t ruled out a Red Bull return in his future after an “unexpected” demotion following two Formula 1 Grands Prix with the Milton Keynes outfit.
Lawson’s Red Bull venture was curtailed after just two rounds, whereby he failed to score points and wound up finishing last in both Sprint and GP qualifying at the Shanghai International Circuit.
The New Zealander returns to the Racing Bulls outfit, with whom he contested his first 11 GPs, as Yuki Tsunoda heads to the senior Red Bull side for his home race in Japan.
It’s a similar fate that befell Pierre Gasly in 2019 – albeit after 12 races instead of two – who successfully rebuilt his career in the ‘junior’ team before moving on to Alpine and Lawson is hoping to do the same, going as far as to not rule out a return to Red Bull in the future.
“I think we know how F1 is and how quickly things change,” Lawson told select media, including Motorsport Week in Japan.
“If I look back a year ago, I had no seat. I was here a year ago watching and wishing I was racing.
“Then I had the opportunity to race at the end of last year and the opportunity then to go to Red Bull Racing. So, a lot has happened in 12 months.
“For me, the main thing is being in a car, and I have the opportunity to prove I belong here and that’s what I’ll try and do.
“In terms of where my future is. I don’t know and, for me, the only way I can control that is by driving fast.
“I guess that [another Red Bull promotion] is part of the conversation,” he added, but with the context of “I guess in a way that’s great, but obviously I was already there starting the season and was focused on proving myself in the team at that point.”
Instead, Lawson is focused on controlling what he can, which is his performances at Racing Bulls.
“Whatever happens down the line is more or less out of my control,” he admitted.
“What I can control is the driving stuff to prove that. So, yeah, where the future goes, honestly, at this point, I’m not really thinking about it too much.”
Lawson hoped to prove himself in Japan
Lawson’s baptism of fire at Red Bull came at two circuits which he’d never raced at before, Albert Park and Shanghai.
The New Zealander had hoped to get a chance in Japan to prove his worth, having taken pole position during the 2023 Super Formula finale at Suzuka.
Lawson admitted he was “surprised” by the Red Bull swap, coming just as he was about to test himself at a familiar venue.
“It is maybe something I wasn’t expecting so early but something that obviously is not my decision,” he said.
“For me it’s about making the most of this opportunity now and still being in F1, I still have that.
“I think I was more surprised. It’s very early in the season and I would say I was hoping to go to a track that I’d raced before and have a clean weekend to have a chance like that.
“But the decision obviously was made when I was told. So, although it was tough to hear, I had one or two days to think about it.”
Rumours of the swap started to swirl in Shanghai, but Lawson added that he had “no idea” until those rumours became a reality.
“I had no idea in China. It was something that was decided, I guess, the Monday or Tuesday afterwards,” he said.
“I found out after China, basically. It was, I think, for all of us probably more unexpected, but it was after the weekend.
“I left China starting preparations for Japan and I had a phone call saying that this is what was going to happen.
“I was looking forward from the start, to be honest, to go to a track that I’ve been to before just to have a proper preparation.”
The Red Bull chiefs have explained that the move is to help reinstate Lawson’s confidence, and he’s hoping to make a strong return to the Faenza team.
“I think the ingredients are there and the main thing is coming here at a track that I’ve driven as well,” he said.
“I think, hopefully, I slot right in and feel comfortable, but we’ll find out tomorrow.”
READ MORE – Liam Lawson admits Red Bull F1 demotion came as a ‘shock’
