Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson has said that he is unsure whether he wants to spend another season in Super Formula, adding fuel to the rumours that he could take Daniel Ricciardo's seat at AlphaTauri next season.
The 21-year-old has impressed in the sport with Team Mugen, sitting in second with just one race to go, still very much in with a chance of winning the championship.
“Nevertheless, this experience taught me a lot of things, in particular there is a much higher level of respect between the pilots in Japan, he continues. In Formula 2 and Formula 3 , we're all trying to achieve the same goal, and we're sort of fighting for one or two seats that rarely make themselves available.
"So it's a bit of a fight without thank you whereas in Super Formula, I'm there with different ambitions from the others. For many of these pilots, this is their full-time career. They have achieved their goal of becoming a professional driver, and usually do both Super GT and Super Formula. For me it's a springboard, so I don't feel in competition with them in a sense."
Potential F1 seat?
Whether Lawson's performances have done enough to impress the unimpressionable Dr Helmut Marko (leader of Red Bull's young driver programme) remains to be seen.
Lawson's future will, ultimately, be down to Marko, as well as AlphaTauri's decision on whether or not they wish to retain Daniel Ricciardo for 2024.
Could we really see Lawson in F1 as soon as next season?
"To be honest, if I am still fighting at the front, as I am now, I will feel like I have achieved everything, and my first objective is obviously a seat in Formula 1."
Walking away from Super Formula with a title in his pocket will surely increase his stock, and he will go into the last race of the season eight points behind Japanese driver Ritomo Mayata.