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“He deserves a steering wheel”: Liam Lawson praises a driver who (once again) was left on the sidelines in 2025
Liam Lawson analyzes the market. © Antonin Vincent / DPPI
It has become rather rare for young drivers to praise some of their peers, too busy as they are trying to secure their own seats in F1. Established at Red Bull as a teammate of Max Verstappen, Liam Lawson has his future secured, having started the 2024 season as a reserve and having become after Singapore the replacement for Daniel Ricciardo at Racing Bulls.
During a video interview broadcast on TikTok, the New Zealander wanted to give a little publicity to a boy he rode against (and lost!) in Formula 2 in 2022. For the Kiwi, Felipe Drugovich would indeed have deserved a seat on the grid in 2025, while his name has been mentioned on numerous occasions at Sauber as a replacement for Guanyu-Zhou et Valtteri Bottas. He ultimately did not get the last seat, as the Swiss team chose his compatriot Gabriel Bortoleto.
📣| Liam Lawson says Felipe Drugovich gets a seat in Formula 1
Lawson: “Si hay alguien que mecece un seat ahora mismo es Drugovich. This is the list! In his FP of the year he moved to Abu Dhabi more quickly than Stroll"#F1 # Formula1 pic.twitter.com/wHfNCnO7S6
— FormulaArg (@FormulaArgOK) December 26, 2024
“If anyone deserves a seat today, it’s Drugovich. He’s ready! In his free practice session last year in Abu Dhabi, he was faster than (Lance) Stroll and third (2nd, even!) in the session. This year again, although I don’t know what the run plans were etc… he was I think slightly faster than Fernando (Alonso). He definitely deserves a seat."
In Abu Dhabi, Felipe Drugovich had in fact beaten the Spaniard by a few hundredths (9th, against 11th) in theAston Martin and had proven his worth, as he had done in 2022 when he won the Formula 2 championship title with a 101-point lead over his runner-up Theo Pourchaire. Blocked at Aston Martin, where he is the third driver, by the boss's son Lance Stroll and by the double world champion Fernando Alonso, the Brazilian is patiently waiting for his chance. In the meantime, he will drive with Cadillac at Daytona in 2025. In the meantime, why not have his chance in F1 in 2026 with this same team?
ALSO READ > Lawson's goal at Red Bull in 2025: 'Win the Constructors' Championship'
Jeremy Satis
Deputy Digital Editor & F1 Reporter
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Ben
28/12/2024 at 02:31 a.m.
Tsunoda and Ocon have no place in F1, you had to dare to say that!
Rochereau
28/12/2024 at 11:15 a.m.
Places are expensive in Formula 1. Even for the best young talents you have to arrive with big means, it's a shame...
RVIC
27/12/2024 at 06:54 a.m.
DRUGOVICH oh yes what a waste to leave him there! Same for MARTINS, POURCHAIRE, and other pearls still in F2 left on the floor who are re-enlisting for a year. OCON, TSUNODA, have no place in F1.
Yves-Henri RANDIER
27/12/2024 at 05:39 a.m.
Which shows that the F2 title is not systematically a guarantee of becoming a regular in F1, as Théo Pourchaire and others well before the Grasse player can also testify!