Liam Lawson admitted he found it difficult to ignore the obvious prospect of a Red Bull promotion in the final races of 2024.
Lawson has been confirmed as Sergio Perez’s replacement for 2025.
The news of Perez’s exit and Lawson’s likely promotion picked up steam in the final weeks of the year.
“It was tough… Abu Dhabi, just knowing what was going on,” Lawson told ESPN.
“I tried to clear it out as much as I could, but obviously it’s a huge opportunity and I knew it was right there and obviously I wanted it so badly that it was hard not to think about it.”
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Lawson said it was never specifically outlined he would get the seat, even if it had felt more likely over the final few weeks of the season.
“I knew the opportunity that was coming and I knew that it was looking like it was going to happen towards the end of this year. I also knew that coming in, it was in a way an audition for the Red Bull seat just because obviously the team at that point were losing the constructors’ and they were looking to make a change.
“It wasn’t specifically, ‘you do this job and you get a Red Bull seat. Anytime that you’re in the sister team, you know that you are auditioning for a Red Bull seat in the future. So I knew coming in, that’s what was happening, but to be honest, I wasn’t expecting it towards the end of the year. That was more of probably a recent thing.”
The New Zealander will look to break Red Bull’s recent trend of having teammates who spiral in form alongside Max Verstappen. Perez’s departure comes after Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon flamed out alongside the Dutchman in previous seasons.
“It’s probably the hardest place to be,” Lawson acknowledges. “But also it comes with the most opportunity. He’s obviously the best in the world right now, so there’s nobody better to learn off.
There’s nobody better to be alongside. Every session that I’m driving, I get to basically look at all of his data and see exactly how he does it. So it’s a great opportunity. As much as I know it’s going to be extremely tough, there’s nobody better to learn off.”