Speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast, Lawson explained the options that were open to him in 2024, with a firm focus on his role as a reserve for Red Bull and AlphaTauri.

“Because I’ve raced in most championships and I’ve even been in F1, I can’t really go and do F2 again,” he said. “There’d be no point. I can’t do Super Formula again. I could, but there’s less benefit from doing it. So I think it’s full focus on being reserve.

“That means a lot of simulator, which for me, I think is what helped getting into Formula 1 and adjusting to it so quickly. I’ve been two years now, nearly, as a reserve so I’ve done lots of simulator work over the last couple of years and that will just continue now into next year, and getting to learn and basically absorb being alongside the best team in Formula 1 right now. I get to sit through all the meetings and learn how they operate.”

Lawson has certainly proved he deserves a place in F1 and he has openly acknowledged how frustrating it is that a spot on the grid hasn’t opened up for him on multiple occasions.

Originally it was Nyck de Vries who got the AlphaTauri drive in 2023, before the Dutch racer was replaced by Ricciardo in Hungary – and now it’s the Ricciardo and Tsunoda pairing in 2024. But when asked if he could understand Red Bull’s position in their driver selections, the young New Zealander was very reflective.