‘Unlikely’ Williams will take Lawson for just one year - Horner 

Despite impressing in his three outings as a stand-in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri, the 21-year-old New Zealander has missed out on a full-time race seat for 2024, with Red Bull sticking with Yuki Tsunoda and the experience of Ricciardo.

There have been suggestions that Red Bull could place Lawson at Williams next season, replacing the under-pressure Logan Sargeant. 

But Horner has poured cold water on the likelihood of that scenario becoming a reality. 

“It will be unlikely that they will take a driver for one year,” Horner told Sky when asked about the possibility of placing Lawson at Williams for next year. 

When asked if there was any more Lawson could have done to seal an AlphaTauri drive for 2024, Horner replied: “No I don’t think so. 

“Look, all of those drivers are Red Bull Racing drivers, effectively placed at AlphaTauri. 

“Daniel, with his experience and his motivation to come back, I think he’ll add great leadership to that team, and a great benchmark. 

“Yuki has been making progress and I think having Daniel there as that benchmark, he’ll only learn from that. 

“Liam, it’s only a matter of time before he gets his opportunity and full-time chance. To have the three of them there is very strong for the group.” 

Horner admitted that Lawson “turned heads and gave us something to think about” with his performance in Singapore. 

“I think he certainly turned heads and gave us something to think about, in particular following his Singapore drive,” Horner said. 

“He’s doing everything possible to justify a case for a full-time drive but unfortunately three into two doesn’t go.”

And Horner stressed that Red Bull are keeping all of their options open for 2025. 

“At Red Bull Racing we want the best two drivers that are available,” he added. 

“We’ve got a long-term contract with Max. Checo is out of contract at the end of 24, and so you want to explore and see all of those options. 

“Checo is in the hot seat at the moment and will obviously will be keen to extend. 

“We’ll see how Daniel does, we’ll see how Yuki does and in the background, we’ll see what Liam’s capable of in the test and reserve role.”