Liam Lawson acknowledges that it is not "definite" that he will be part of the Formula 1 lineup in 2025.
Red Bull advisor Dr Helmut Marko recently stirred up some excitement by suggesting that the team's reserve driver would "definitely" be driving a Red Bull-branded F1 car next year.
However, team principal Christian Horner disagreed with this statement, leading Marko to clarify his remarks.
"I think I said that he will be in a Formula 1 car next year," Marko told Viaplay.
"It is known that we have an option on him, but only if we can guarantee him a seat in Formula 1. We will decide in September what exactly we are going to do."
One strong indication that Lawson could be in one of the four Red Bull cars is Marko's early "no" to any idea that Lawson could immediately replace Logan Sargeant at Williams.
"We have our own plans for Liam in the near future," he told Auto Motor und Sport.
Things appear to be looking up for the 22-year-old Lawson, but he's keeping his expectations in check for now.
"Until it's definite, anything can happen," the New Zealander rookie told Viaplay at Zandvoort. "For me at the moment, it's a matter of waiting."
"Of course I want a full-time seat, but I don't know yet when exactly that will happen. Of course I hope it will be the case next year."
Lawson admits it's been a frustrating time since he stepped in for five races to replace an injured Daniel Ricciardo at Alpha Tauri last year.
"Yes, when you've already been in there, it's pretty frustrating," Lawson confirmed. "But that's also just part of it. I don't really mind waiting, as long as I get that seat in the end."
Lawson even opened his Formula 1 career points tally with a P9 finish at the challenging Singapore circuit last year. "I'm proud of it," he said during the Dutch GP weekend, "but my goal is to become a full-time Formula 1 driver. At the moment, that hasn't happened yet. I will only be really proud when it does."
