Horner clarifies Lawson Red Bull F1 seat claim

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has clarified the situation around Liam Lawson and his F1 prospects for next season.

A recent comment made by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko stated Lawson “will be in one of our cars” for the 2025 campaign.

The comment comes amid mounting pressure on the shoulders of Sergio Perez, who has struggled for performance at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen for much of the year.

However, Horner has refuted Marko's comment has a direct correlation with Perez's position within the team and highlighted the possibility exists for Lawson to obtain a drive outside of the Red Bull family.

“I asked him [Marko], he said he [Lawson] will have a drive in Formula 1 next year,” Horner told Sky F1.

“We could rent him out somewhere else. Nothing is fixed. If we don't take up the option on Liam, then he's a free driver for 2025. 

“We've got specific time periods within drivers' contracts where that becomes prevalent. 

“I checked with Helmut earlier and he said, 'No, I didn't say which car - I just said “a drive”.”

Horner defends decision to retain Perez

Red Bull outlined at the start of the summer break that Perez would stay at Red Bull for the remainder of the season amid speculation he could face an early exit.

Horner has defended the decision to keep a hold of Perez despite his dwindling results and is confident the Mexican can restore his early-season form.

“We've got the best two drivers, we believe, in this car, we have all the data from all of the drivers,” he said.

“We have that information, and if we felt that there was something better, we would have changed it by now. 

“We believe what we have is capable of defending the championship. It finished first and second in last year's championship. It finished first and third in the year before. 

“It won in 2021 as well. You're very quick to condemn Sergio. We're trying our hardest to give him the chance to rediscover that form. 

“He has to cope with all the pressure, the media, all the social media that piles in on the back of that. 

“He's a driver that's capable of bouncing back, and we're giving Him our full support, and want to see him respond.”