Kiwi racing driver Liam Lawson said he got "the shock of my life" after being snubbed for the Formula 1 seat for Alpha Tauri.
"I landed in Tokyo and flicked on my phone and got the shock of my life," he told 1News.
"I wasn’t aware of the decision being made. It was definitely a surprise."
Red Bull last week announced Daniel Ricciardo would race the remainder of the season for them after dumping underperforming Nyck de Vries. After talking to the Red Bull bosses, Lawson said he now understands why they chose experience over talent.
"Alpha Tauri have been struggling in the last couple of years and this year especially so having Daniel can really help benefit the team," he said.
"For me, it would have been super difficult. I wouldn’t want to jump in mid-year anyway – it would have been tough.
"My question was 'does this change anything for me? Am I still on the cards to be an F1 driver?'"
The answer the Kiwi driver got was 'yes' – "as long as I do my job", he said.
The 21-year-old couldn't have come up with a better response.
Last night, he won his third Super Formula race in Japan and closed in on the championship title with just three rounds remaining.
If Lawson takes out the Super Formula crown, that would all but seal an F1 seat.
"I don’t want to get to the end of the year and wish I'd done more – I’d like to get to the end of it and say that I’d done everything I could."
Lawson is set to meet with Red Bull bosses this week when he arrives in Hungary for his Red Bull reserve driver duties ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix.
"I’ll talk to Dr Helmut Marko and Christian Horner a little bit but it will just be the same as it has been all year – 'keep winning. If you want a shot, keep winning.'"
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