Liam Lawson's F1 future is all but officially rubberstamped, according to RB team principal Laurent Mekies.
Lawson thrust himself into the spotlight last year with a five-race cameo in the second half of the season after Daniel Ricciardo broke a finger in his left hand after a crash in practice for the Dutch Grand Prix.
The New Zealander then had to wait patiently on the sidelines for a year until RB decided to dispense with Ricciardo's services after the Singapore Grand Prix.
Lawson has since been effectively auditioning for a permanent place on the grid in 2025, although in scoring points in two of the four races since his return, he has been mentioned as a potential replacement for Sergio Perez at Red Bull.
Red Bull bosses Christian Horner and Helmut Marko will decide on the line-ups of both teams after next weekend's Abu Dhabi GP.
Speaking to RacingNews365, Mekies is in no doubt his current driver pairing of Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda is one he would like to take forward into next season.
Tsunoda has a one-year deal with the team, that will be known as Racing Bulls next season, although he is also under consideration as Perez's replacement.
As to whether he knew in his head his driver line-up for next year, Mekies said: "We made quite public something that in the end was positive news because it's probably the most logical approach for a company to take.
"We said, you know what, we will finish the season, take all the data, go to our bosses, show them the data, and then eventually they will decide what they want to do, and that's what will happen after Abu Dhabi.
"If I look at Racing Bulls in isolation, there is no question that what we have is great for the team. There are no driver discussions to have. What we have is great, thank you very much.
"There is no doubt this is absolutely brilliant for the team, and there is no doubt that we could contribute to developing them further.
"But then, of course, there is the bigger Red Bull picture, and the bigger Red Bull picture is what our DNA is, which is to develop these drivers so that they can provide the solutions to the wider Red Bull family if there is an opportunity, and we will sit down after Abu Dhabi."
Asked directly, however, whether it was fair to say Lawson will have a place in F1 next season, either at Racing Bulls or Red Bull, Mekies replied: "I think it's fair to say, yes. Short answer, yes."
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