Liam Lawson given message from Helmut Marko after being sidelined by Red Bull

Liam Lawson has been told to be patient by Helmut Marko after his super sub appearance earlier this season.

Lawson was dropped into the AlphaTauri seat on short notice after Daniel Ricciardo injured his hand during FP2 in Zandvoort.

As well as his F1 debut in the Netherlands, Lawson competed in four races for Red Bull’s sister team and impressed during his outings.

Helmut Marko urges Liam Lawson patience

But whatever praise Lawson earned, it was not enough to earn him his dream of a full-time F1 seat with AlphaTauri sticking with Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda while both Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen already had contracts for next year.

Lawson then will have to bide his time as he spends another season as reserve driver for the two constructors.

“He just has to be patient and his time will come,” Marko told Newstalk ZB. “We already have a contract with Sergio Perez, Yuki

Tsunoda and also with Daniel Ricciardo which goes till the end of 2024.”

But Marko did praise Lawson for his performances across the five races, suggesting it could not have been more difficult to begin your F1 career in such a manner.

“If I look at the first three races, there was a steady improvement,” Marko recalled.

“It was much quicker [than] in the beginning … I would say his qualifying also improved but still a lot to learn, but he will learn a lot on the simulator.

“How he was dropped in, it [couldn’t have been] more difficult than it was – it was raining as far as I remember.”

Marko is not the only Red Bull higher up who has praised Lawson with AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost also commenting on the nature of his arrival.

PlanetF1.com recommends

F1 driver contracts: What is the current contract status of every driver on the 2023 grid?

F1 2025 driver line-up: Who is already confirmed for the 2025 grid?

“Liam did a fantastic job with us, because we must not forget the circumstances when he, the first time, drove in Zandvoort for us – he wasn’t prepared for this,” Tost said.

“He just had to jump into the car. It was raining, he had to use full wet tyres. He was never in a Formula 1 car with full wet tyres and also not with intermediates, and he did everything without any mistake and he showed a good race performance in Zandvoort.

“I think his highlight with us was in Singapore when he finished on the ninth position.

“Singapore is not an easy track. He was competitive from the very beginning onwards, no mistake, nothing and he deserves a seat in Formula 1 and I expect him, at least in 2025, to be in Formula 1.”

Read next: ‘We looked like a clown’ – Max Verstappen pans Las Vegas GP opening ceremony