Liam Lawson said his “ultimate goal” is to win a World Championship, though acknowledged he is not expected to do that straight away alongside Max Verstappen.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner confirmed “the expectation is for Max to win” within the team and he remains their lead driver, while acknowledging Lawson’s “character and robustness” to deal with the pressure with being the four-time World Champion’s team-mate next season.

Liam Lawson reveals title as ‘ultimate goal’ amid Max Verstappen support in 2025

Lawson has been promoted to the ‘senior’ Red Bull stable after only 11 Grand Prix starts, and will be expected to help the team regain the Constructors’ Championship crown it lost to McLaren this season.

While Verstappen retained his Drivers’ title, Red Bull finished third in the lucrative Constructors’ standings, with the performances of Sergio Perez not matching up to the reigning champion.

Lawson admitted his promotion has come in part to look to help the team back to the top of the championship, but added he has his eyes on the biggest prize himself when opportunity allows in the future.

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When asked if his ‘baseline’ goal arriving at Red Bull will be to contribute to a Constructors’ challenge, Lawson told Sky F1: “I mean, I would say yes, from a team perspective, and I would say what my job is as a driver, coming into Red Bull Racing, is to fight for that Constructors’.

“That’s the main team goal. So obviously that’s what I’m set up to try and do – and anyway, achieving the best results is going to achieve that so, for me, my focus is to do as well as possible.

“Obviously, my ultimate goal in Formula 1 is to win a World Championship. Am I expected to come and do that straight away? No, but obviously that’s where I’m trying to head to and, for me, I’ll be trying to do the best job I can in supporting the team.

“At this stage, I don’t know how it’s going to go, but I think from a team perspective, yes, the goal is to try and compete as close to Max as possible.”

Red Bull junior Isack Hadjar has taken Lawson’s place at junior team VCARB next season, where he will partner Yuki Tsunoda in 2025.

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