Red Bull management have confirmed that the Kiwi will take over Daniel Ricciardo’s Visa Cash App RB (VCARB) seat from the US Grand Prix in Austin, scheduled for 21 October 2024.

Team Boss Laurent Mekies said, “It’s great to see young talent from within the Red Bull family make the next step. We’re looking forward to getting our heads down and focusing on the rest of the season together. He already knows the Team well. He drove for us last season and coped well under difficult circumstances, so it’ll be a natural transition.”

"It feels like a long time coming but very exciting. There's been a lot of hard work from a lot of people for a lot of years. It's not just my dream but the dream of a lot of people around me to get a seat in the sport," said Lawson. "It's definitely been hard at times. There's been parts over the past couple of years, more so than not, that haven't been so much fun. Some difficult experiences but obviously I knew it was all part of the learning process and at the end of the day if it meant I was going to get a seat eventually I was always working towards that. And the goal never changed."

After Lawson’s standout F1 stint last year, deputising for an injured Daniel Ricciardo in five races, it’s no surprise that his name has been whispered around the paddock all year as a sure thing for a seat – the only unknown being for which team. Confirmation that both Sergio Perez and Yuki Tsunoda have contracts for 2025 meant that Ricciardo’s was the only real option.

Red Bull showed their hand when Williams requested the 22-year-old to replace the beleaguered Logan Sargeant for the remainder of the year. The defending constructor's champions blocked the move because it conflicted with their plans, and now it’s clear why, Lawson was to be called in before the end of the 2024 season.

Following the Singapore Grand Prix, Ricciardo appeared to be aware of the pending announcement, saying to reporters after the race “A lot of emotions... I am aware it could be it. Just exhausted after the race, so a flood of emotions and feelings and exhaustion. Just wanted to savour the moment.”

The moment is over…for at least, it is over.

Still, till the very end, the Australian was doing his bit for the Red Bull outfit; despite finishing a dismal 18th, a late stop for soft tyres secured the fastest lap, denying McLaren’s Lando Norris a crucial championship point in his chase of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

By joining VCARB, Lawson follows in the footsteps of fellow Giltrap-backed driver Brendon Hartley, who debuted for the Faenza-based outfit in 2017, back when it was known as Toro Rosso.

Lawson’s first race as a full-time Formula 1 driver was the US GP at the Circuit of the Americas on 21 October 2024.

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