Has Red Bull found the replacement for Nyck de Vries? Liam Lawson takes the lead in the Super Formula Championship with another win

Nyck de Vries' AlphaTauri seat could be in potential danger after Red Bull reserve driver Liam Lawson registered an amazing victory in the Japanese Super Formula Championship. It marked his second win in the single-seater Formula championship.

The race win came in at Round Four of the championship at Autopolis. Although he started the race on P2 and lost a place at the start, but was able to make it to the front by the end. While this is a great win for him, it will impact De Vries' future in Formula 1.

Former Formula E and Formula 2 world champion Nyck de Vries impressed Red Bull's members during his inaugural F1 race at Monza last season as a reserve driver for Williams. He was then picked as their driver at AlphaTauri for this season.

However, his work hasn't resonated much as a permanent driver on the grid with an arguably better team, as he remains one of the two drivers in 2023 who are yet to score a single point. It has been said that RBR has given him the 'yellow card,' (since AlphaTauri is their sister team) because of his performance.

Dr Helmut Marko, Red Bull's advisor, has mentioned that he has the time for five races to prove himself, and failing to do so will see him getting replaced mid-season, which is not new for the team.

With Liam Lawson winning his second in Super Formula, it seems as if he would be one of the candidates to replace De Vries since he is the reserve driver for both teams.

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Liam Lawson looking forward to finishing Super Formula series despite the Red Bull opportunity

Liam Lawson had an interesting Formula 2 campaign, with a third-place finish in the 2022 season. Now, since he is racing at Super Formula, moving to Formula 1 through Red Bull and having a permanent seat at AlphaTauri would be quite an amazing opportunity.

However, his first priority is finishing the Super Formula season to bring a strong foundation.

"I want to finish the year and fight for the championship, and that will give me the best opportunity for next year," Lawson told Motorsport. "In terms of what’s happening [in F1]... it’s completely outside of my control. I am just happy to win today."

Since Lawson is now leading the championship in the Super Formula Championship, he will now think of finishing the season first. He has a chance to win the championship, moreover, it will help to bring other teams' attention to his performance. He might as well end up with a permanent seat in one of the teams on the F1 grid.