Liam Lawson: Red Bull driver who always won on debut is dropped after two GPs

F1

Liam Lawson's career as a Red Bull F1 driver has come to an abrupt end after just two grands prix. It's a glaring anomaly for a driver who has a trademark of making a strong first impression

Liam Lawson in Racing Bulls team wear

Lawson returns to Racing Bulls from the Japanese Grand Prix

Red Bull

If there was any driver who could succeed alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull, then you might have imagined Liam Lawson would be it.

The New Zealander arrived in Formula 1 with a remarkable record of debut wins. He adapted to new machinery so quickly that he’d claimed a victory on the first race weekend of every single-seater category that he entered — and did the same in Germany’s GT-based DTM.

From Formula First to Japanese Super Formula, where he made his debut at Fuji in 2023, Lawson won on his category debut eight times in total, including in F3, F2 and DTM, which is thought to be unprecedented.

Although his run of debut wins was always destined to end when he made his F1 race debut for AlphaTauri (an earlier incarnation of Racing Bulls), he was up to speed quickly as a replacement for an injured Daniel Ricciardo in 2023.

It was also too much to expect Lawson to win his first race for Red Bull at the start of this year, but few would have predicted such a chasm in pace between him and team-mate Verstappen in the first two rounds of the 2025 season, a gap that would appear to come down to a car that’s simply too sensitive for anyone but Verstappen to drive on the limit, as explored by Mark Hughes already.

Liam Lawson wins the season opener of the Japanese Super Formula Championship

Liam Lawson wins the season opener of the Japanese Super Formula Championship in 2023

RedBullContentPool

Team boss Christian Horner acknowledged as much when he announced that Lawson would return to sister team Racing Bulls and Yuki Tsunoda would be replacing him at Red Bull from the Japanese Grand Prix, as it looks to push development of this year’s RB21 car in a direction that makes it more driveable.

“It has been difficult to see Liam struggle with the RB21 at the first two races and, as a result, we have collectively taken the decision to make an early switch,” said Horner.

“We acknowledge there is a lot of work to be done with the RB21 and Yuki’s experience will prove highly beneficial in helping to develop the current car. We welcome him to the team and are looking forward to seeing him behind the wheel of the RB21.

“We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam and together, we see that after such a difficult start, it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience, as he continues his F1 career with Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well.”

Related article

It’s not Lawson’s first setback in F1: as a Red Bull Junior driver, he was initially passed over for the AlphaTauri seat in 2023, in favour of Nyck de Vries. When that arrangement ended early, Ricciardo was preferred over Lawson — only to injure himself in a crash at the Dutch Grand Prix and hand Lawson his F1 race debut, the first of five substitute appearances that year.

Lawson was classified ahead of team-mate Tsunoda in two of the three grands prix that they both finished and out-qualified him once but had to return to the sidelines in 2024 as Ricciardo and Tsunoda started the year for the team.

However, Ricciardo was the next mid-season casualty which finally brought Lawson a full-time drive from the US GP onwards. This time the head-to-head results swung in Tsunoda’s favour but Lawson got the Red Bull nod for 2025.

As he returns to Racing Bulls, Lawson might wonder where his career is now headed. Looking back, however, might offer reassurance of the talent that lies within.

Early success

Lawson’s rise through the ranks was something of a fairytale, backed by a network of sponsors from his home in New Zealand, that helped set him on a path to follow the likes of fellow Kiwis Bruce McLaren, Chris Amon and Denny Hulme into F1.

Success in karting earned him New Zealand’s SpeedSport scholarship for young drivers, helping to fund a Formula First drive where he won, aged 13, on his debut in the 2015 Manfeild Winter Series.

He followed that with a truly dominant Formula Ford season. Another debut win was followed by victory in the New Zealand F1600 national series, winning 14 out of 15 races and claiming the title on his 15th birthday.

Liam Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda on the podium at Monza after EuroFormula race

On the podium with Tsunoda in EuroFormula, 2019

Red Bull

Winning from Formula 4 to Formula 2

In 2017, he began his Australian F4 career with a trademark win at the opening weekend, and went on to finish second in the championship. The following year, he was runner-up again in the German F4 championship, and took part in one round of the Asian F3 Series where he didn’t just win on his debut, but took pole position and victory in each of the three races over the weekend.

Lawson signed as a Red Bull Junior driver for 2019, and recorded two further debut wins that year: in the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing Series, on his way to the title, as well as in the Euroformula Open Championship, where he was runner-up.

That year, Lawson also joined the international F3 series, finishing 11th in his first year, then fifth in 2020.

Liam Lawson bumps fists with Jehan Daruvala after winning on his Bahrain F2 debut in 2021

Victory for Lawson on his F2 debut in Bahrain, 2019

Red Bull

Graduating to Formula 2 in 2021 with Hitech, he won his first race in Bahrain, and finished ninth in the championship. Then came a season with Carlin, with four victories, as he beat Logan Sargeant to third in the drivers’ standings whilst going wheel-to-wheel throughout the campaign with eventual winner Felipe Drugovich.

Lawson also competed in the 2021 DTM season where he was runner-up in the championship — after winning again on his debut.

F1 reserve and Super Formula victories

In 2023 Lawson, fought for the Japanese Super Formula title, winning three times, including on his debut, but missing out on the championship in the final round. By then, however, he was already an F1 driver, courtesy of his reserve role for AlphaTauri and Ricciardo’s injury.

Comments

Loading Comments