Formula One: Liam Lawson’s short-term switch blocked by Red Bull as 2025 announcement looms

New Zealand’s Liam Lawson will not step into Williams for the rest of the 2024 Formula One season, Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko has confirmed.

With his own future in the sport still to be decided, the Herald understands Lawson was targeted by Williams, as the team appears to be losing patience with incumbent Logan Sargeant.

The 23-year-old American crashed in practice for Monday’s Dutch Grand Prix, in a double blow for Williams as teammate Alex Albon was disqualified when his car was deemed illegal.

Monday’s race saw Sargeant finish 16th, while Albon finished 14th to give Williams no points for their weekend’s work, while McLaren’s Lando Norris took victory.

As a result, Williams team principal James Vowles is understood to have approached Red Bull over potentially taking Lawson on a short-term loan deal for the rest of 2024.

That would have given Lawson nine races in the Williams car, alongside Albon – who were teammates in the 2022 German DTM championship.

But with Red Bull facing a September deadline to confirm Lawson’s future, Marko has shut down any prospect of the Kiwi moving to a rival garage in the short term.

“We have our own plans for Liam in the near future,” the 81-year-old told German outlet Auto Motor und Sport.

With the September deadline ticking closer, Lawson’s future continues to come under the microscope.

At present, three of Red Bull’s four seats across its four cars are signed for 2025. World champion Max Verstappen, teammate Sergio Perez and Racing Bulls affiliate Yuki Tsunoda all have their futures secured.

That leaves Australian Daniel Ricciardo and Lawson vying for the second Racing Bulls seat. As the overseer of Red Bull’s junior driver programme, Marko has been a vocal advocate for the Kiwi.

Twice already this year, Marko has emphasised the need for Racing Bulls to be a junior team, and put Lawson forward as the man to step in as and when Red Bull make a change.

Before the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, Marko went again and declared that Lawson “will definitely” be in a Red Bull car next year.

Over the summer break, speculation over Perez’s future pitted Lawson against Ricciardo in the race to partner Verstappen for the rest of 2024, only for Red Bull to keep faith in the struggling Mexican.

In 2023, Lawson stepped in to replace Ricciardo for five races, after the Australian suffered a broken hand at Zandvoort, only to be overlooked for a place on the grid this season.

And with his own future on the line, Ricciardo himself admitted Lawson should have a place somewhere on the grid next year.

“I saw him competing in the car when I was on the sidelines and I think he did a great job and he is worthy of a seat,” he said on Friday.

“From a place of competitive respect, I think he does deserve one, so if he is in the sport next year, I think that’s a good thing.”

Should Red Bull fail to sign Lawson by his contractual September deadline, both Audi-backed Sauber and Mercedes are the only other available seats on the grid.

Sauber had been linked with Lawson before the summer break, but the Herald understands their interest has moved more broadly to be whichever Red Bull driver does not secure a 2025 seat.

Alex Powell is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.