Red Bull driver fires ultimatum at Christian Horner after Sergio Perez contract extension

By | June 6, 2024

Red Bull driver fires ultimatum at Christian Horner after Sergio Perez contract extension

Liam Lawson is looking for a full-time F1 drive (Photo: Getty)

Red Bull junior Liam Lawson has warned that he will look to leave the Formula 1 team if they cannot guarantee him a full-time drive in 2025.

This comes after Red Bull extended Sergio Perez’s contract on Monday, with the Mexican and Max Verstappen locked in as the reigning champions’ line-up until at least 2026.

As a result, the futures of the other drivers on their roster look uncertain, with Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda both out of contract at sister-team RB, while Lawson remains in a reserve driver role.

The highly-rated New Zealander made his F1 debut last season, deputising for Ricciardo for five races after he broke his hand, but despite greatly impressing he was overlooked for a full-time seat, a decision he did not take kindly.

‘It’s tough knowing that I don’t get the seat even though I’ve just beaten the guy [Tsunoda] whose getting the seat,’ Lawson said in the latest series of Drive to Survive.

‘I don’t know how to f***ing answer that. It’s meant to be me.’

Though Ricciardo has struggled of late, he remains a very popular figure with Red Bull’s hierarchy, especially Christian Horner, while Tsunoda has been one of the star performers of the season so far.

Sergio Perez has been handed a two-year contract extension by Christian Horner (Photo: Getty)

With promotion to Red Bull off the cards, it seems likely that both will retain their seats for another year, leaving Lawson in the cold again, but the 22-year-old has stated that he is more than prepared to pursue a seat elsewhere.

Asked if and where he would be racing in 2025, Lawson told talkSPORT: ‘I have no idea – everything is changing at the moment, there are a lot of drivers moving around.

‘At the moment, I don’t really know where I slot into that, or if I do at all. It’s something that I’m working towards every day at the moment.

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