Scuderia AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost has revealed a lack of experience was the key factor in Kiwi driver Liam Lawson being overlooked for a Formula 1 seat in 2023.
Lawson has been the reserve driver for both Red Bull and AlphaTauri this season, while has been the designated rookiepractice driver for AlphaTauri’s two mandated sessions.
However, with Pierre Gasly departing Red Bull’s sister team in favour of Alpine next season, AlphaTauri signed current Mercedes reserve driver Nyck de Vries in his place rather than Red Bull academy driver Lawson.
Speaking ahead of the Japan Grand Prix earlier this month, Tost said Lawson was one of several academy drivers considered, but the team ultimately decided against an in-house hire.
“All the Red Bull young drivers were taken into consideration. There’s Liam Lawson, there’s [Ayumu] Iwasa, there’s [Dennis] Hauger in Formula 2, then [Isack] Hadjar in Formula 3, but they all still miss experience,” Tost said.
“They need to do another year or two in their categories and then we will see what the future will bring.”
After getting his first opportunity to get behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car as part of a race weekend for a practice session in Belgium in August, 20-year-old Lawson took his second guaranteed drive on Saturday morning in Mexico. However, that opportunity was cut short as, with about five minutes left in the hour-long session, his brakes caught fire and smoke billowed out the side of the car to force him to a halt.
It was the second time in as many Formula 1 drives that he didn’t see out the full session, as rain brought his run to an early end in Belgium.
Liam Lawson has three Formula 2 race wins this season. Photo / Getty Images
Lawson is currently driving in his second year of Formula 2, sitting seventh in the standings with one race remaining. With 123 points, including three race wins and eight podium appearances, he has well surpassed his 109 points from his debut season in the series.
He looks set for a third season at that level in 2023 after missing out on the seat with AlphaTauri, but will look to make the most of any remaining opportunities in a Formula 1 car this year.
While reaching his allotment with the team this weekend, Lawson could still find at least one more opportunity to get behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car as Red Bull still has one rookie session owing. Lawson is currently the reserve driver for both AlphaTauri and Red Bull, and is a likely candidate to be offered that drive later in the year as well.
Lawson has been one of two Kiwi Formula 2 athletes to take opportunities for test drives at higher levels in recent weeks. Last week, Marcus Armstrong was in the United States testing for IndyCar team Dale Coyne Racing as he looks towards at making the next step in his career.
Those opportunities came at a convenient time in Formula 2 competition schedule, with the series not due to race again until the season’s final event in Abu Dhabi in mid-November. There, Lawson will be in a five-way battle for third place on the season standings. Armstrong, currently sits 12th after missing out on points in three of the last four races, but could still force his way back inside the top 10 at the season’s final event.
