Liam Lawson has revealed he knew he would be back in Formula One as early as last year as a stunning promise from Christian Horner comes to light.
It was announced that the Kiwi driver would be replacing Daniel Ricciardo in Red Bull's sister team following the Singapore Grand Prix.
The decision means Ricciardo looks all but confirmed to leave the sport for good after 13 years where he achieved eight wins, three pole positions, 17 fastest laps, and 32 podiums.
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The 35-year-old will be replaced by 22-year-old Lawson, who deputised for the Aussie for five races last year after Ricciardo suffered a wrist injury in Zandvoort.
The decision to sack Ricciardo mid-season took many by surprise, however, it will not have come as a shock to Lawson who revealed to F1 Nation that he was made aware of the possibility by Horner last year.
"The idea of me jumping in is something that Christian told me a year ago," Lawson said.
"When I stepped out of the car, that was one of the things he said to me.
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"He said, ‘I give you my word I’ll basically have you in a race at some point next year’. So I always knew that was the intention and it had been talked about," he continued.
Lawson explained that being on the sidelines is a 'horrible' experience as a driver as you are essentially waiting for someone else's downfall if you are to get an opportunity.
"As you know, Formula One is a rollercoaster, and every weekend things change. It’s a bit horrible to be honest because you’re sitting there wondering what your chances are of driving and it completely depends on how the guys that are currently driving are doing," he explained.
And you don’t obviously want somebody’s downfall to be your way in, but for me to drive somebody has to leave, obviously."
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Lawson impressed during his brief stint in the sport last year, famously out-qualifying Max Verstappen and knocking the reigning world champion out of Q2 in Singapore.
Topics: Daniel Ricciardo, Formula 1
Tom Jenkins