Liam Lawson's Formula 1 future will not come specifically at the expense of Sergio Perez, claims Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko. Lawson has been playing a substitute role at AlphaTauri since the Dutch Grand Prix, in place of an injured Daniel Ricciardo, scoring points with ninth place in Singapore. The New Zealander has widely impressed with his performances and was deemed unlucky to miss out on a full-time 2024 seat with the team as Ricciardo will partner Yuki Tsunoda. Ricciardo is set to return for the United States Grand Prix with his hand having fully healed, but questions have now been raised by the spiraling form of Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull. Perez has scored just five points in the last three races compared to 62 for team-mate Max Verstappen and is in danger of being caught for second in the Drivers' by Lewis Hamilton.
The Mexican has a contract until the end of 2024, but team boss Christian Horner was firm in insisting Perez pick up his form after his troubled run to ensure the team achieves it desire for a first-ever one-two in the Drivers' championship. Beyond 2024, Perez's future is uncertain, but Motorsport Advisor Marko has made it clear that Lawson's viability for a seat will not come at the direct expense of Perez. "You have three drivers in the AlphaTauri team and Lawson is the reserve driver for four cars,”Marko told Kleine Zeitung . "So anything can happen. "I don't think it's specifically to do with Perez, it's actually a logical progression that Lawson will come into Formula 1 [in a full-time seat] sooner or later."
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