Red Bull reserve Lawson brushes off de Vries speculation

Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson has brushed off speculation linking him to Nyck de Vries' Formula 1 seat at AlphaTauri.

Rumours have mounted over de Vries' future following a difficult start to his rookie season in F1, with Helmut Marko stating that the Dutchman is on a "yellow card".

Should the team opt to replace de Vries if his performances do not improve, Marko suggested that Red Bull would look to their "pool of young talent", naming Lawson and Ayumu Iwaso in this bracket.

However, Lawson says that his current focus remains on winning the Super Formula title, having joined the Japanese series after finishing third in the 2022 Formula 2 championship.

Lawson: F1 activity completely out of my control

"It's good timing in the sense it puts me in the lead of the championship, and that's what I am thinking about at the moment," Lawson told Autosport after taking the championship lead following his second victory in Super Formula.

"I want to finish the year and fight for the championship, and that will give me the best opportunity for next year.

"In terms of what's happening [in F1]… it's completely outside of my control."

Lawson previously took part in Free Practice 1 sessions for Red Bull and AlphaTauri during the 2022 F1 season.