Liam Lawson says there is no point focusing on Formula 1 when his current task at hand is to win the FIA Formula 2 championship.
Making his F2 debut last weekend in Bahrain, Lawson would win the opening reverse-grid sprint race and climb from eighth to third in the longer feature race.
The 19-year-old is second in the championship and is the highest placed rookie.
Lawson’s success has raised suggestions that the Kiwi driver could be set for a promotion to F1 as early as next season.
A Red Bull Junior driver, Lawson has strong ties with one of F1’s most successful franchises and is currently the lead man in the team’s pool of young talent.
However, he says that the current focus is on achieving the best results in F2, and he is not looking too far ahead.
“[The goal] is the same every year and that is to win races.” Lawson said in an interview on NewsTalk ZB.
“If we keep on winning races, then we keep getting to drive faster cars and moving up.
“I still have a very long way to go, even though I am only one step below F1.
“To get there we just have to maximise everything we can this year and do the best job we can. That is the only focus at the moment.”
Of the 22 drivers on the grid at Bahrain, seven were rookies. The majority of the field had spent at least two or more seasons in the junior category.
Lawson says that fact alone means there is every likelihood he could also spend more than one year in F2.
“People spend a lot of time in F2. There are only a few seats available in F1 every year and sometimes there are none,” he said.
“This year, there are a lot of drivers in F3 that have spent three or four years in the championship. Not many get to go straight to F1, and a lot don’t at all.
“So, I am not thinking too much ahead.”
The next round of the F2 championship will be in Monaco on May 22-24.
Wise words Liam, you have got what it takes.
Wins are all that matter that’s what the F1 teams are looking for.