Liam Lawson

In many eyes, Liam Lawson is a deserved member of the F1 grid after two impressive stints as a stand-in reserve in 2023 and 2024. But the Kiwi will likely face his greatest challenge yet in 2025, as after just eleven grand prix entries, he’s been selected for a front-running seat at Red Bull — next to Max Verstappen.

Lawson earned an enviable reputation during his rise up the racing ladder, winning on his first race weekend of every single-seater category that he’s entered — a record only broken when he made his F1 debut in 2023 for AlphaTauri at the Dutch Grand Prix.

While he didn’t win, Lawson did his reputation no harm by finishing ahead of team-mate Yuki Tsunoda in four of the five grands prix he contested — although one was down to Tsunoda’s car failing. He returned in 2024, replacing Daniel Ricciardo from the US onward, and again impressed.

Lawson’s patience was ultimately rewarded with at seat at Red Bull for 2025, but will he continue to shine when compared with the title-winning talent of his F1 team-mate? It remains to be seen.

Early racing career 

Born in New Zealand, Lawson began racing life, like most, strapped to a go-kart. His first taste of single-seaters came in 2015 in Formula First Winter Series, where he wasted no time making an impression — scoring one win, one pole position and ten podium finishes on his way to second in the championship standings. A move to Formula Ford in 2016 yielded even better results: starting all 15 races from pole, setting the fastest lap in each and winning 14 events in total, becoming the youngest champion the series had ever had in the process.

In 2018, he left New Zealand and began racing in Australian Formula 4. Despite the heightened competition, the story remained the same: finishing runner-up in his first season with three victories, besting Enzo Fittipaldi and Frederik Vesti.

At 17, he joined the Red Bull Junior Academy and continued his climb toward success, entering Formula 3 in 2019. Here, the Kiwi faced his toughest challenge, and ultimately finished eleventh in the standings by the end of his first season. But, like all future stars do, Lawson quickly improved: finishing second in the EuroFormula Open series and fifth in his second season of Formula 3 in 2020.

Formula 2 and DTM

His impressive performance earned further promotion into the Toyota Racing Series — finishing second once again — and then DTM and Formula 2 in 2021, competing in both simultaneously. Lawson had victories in both categories, his first naturally coming on debut in Bahrain (F2) and in Monza (DTM). The Kiwi’s versatility impressed over the course of the year, ultimately finishing second in DTM with Red Bull AF Corse but fell to eleventh in F2 with Hitech GP.

An improved focus on F2 in 2022 yielded better results, finishing third, second and then first in the first three races of the season. A small dip in mid-season form saw Lawson tumble down the standings before a late surge saw him catapult back up to third, finishing 116 points shy of eventual champion Felipe Drugovich. Despite his efforts, Lawson was not granted promotion into F1 for 2023, leaving him to pursue other options.

Super Formula and Formula 1

Lawson stepped into an F1 car for the first time in 2021, taking part in a young driver test for AlphaTauri after the season finale in Abu Dhabi. He impressed once again and was named the official reserve driver for the team but needed to find a full-time seat in another series before getting his shot in F1. That’s where the Super Formula series came in — Japan’s answer to elite level motor sport.

Racing for Team Mugen, Lawson was an instant sensation, winning on debut again in Fuji over a field of highly established drivers. He won again in Autopolis and and once more in Fuji, but was 13th after a crash in the following round at Motegi, and he ultimately finished second in the championship.

By that time, however, Lawson was already racing in F1. After Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand at Zandvoort, Lawson was called up as his replacement for the Dutch Grand Prix — a debut many believed to be long overdue. Signs of nerves could be seen early as he qualified 20th for Sunday’s race, but after just one practice session, the bar was not set exceptionally high. Nevertheless, Lawson surpassed it.

Driving with experience beyond his years, Lawson finished a strong thirteenth — two places clear of temporary team-mate Yuki Tsunoda. In Monza, he took one step further, qualifying twelfth and finishing just shy of the points on race day, while Tsunoda’s car broke down before the start. He then out-qualified Tsunoda in Singapore and earned his first points with a ninth-place finish. He had two more competitive drives in Qatar and Japan before Ricciardo returned.

Unfortunately for Lawson, despite his impressive run of form, Red Bull chiefs opted to stick with Ricciardo and Tsunoda for its 2024 line-up — instead promising the Kiwi a drive for 2025.

But Lawson’s chance to get back behind the wheel of an F1 car again came sooner than many expected. As Ricciardo’s performance continued on a downward slope through 2024, Lawson was fielded as the Aussie’s replacement from the US Grand Prix onward. On his return, the 22-year-old qualified 19th but finished a brilliant ninth — proof he had not lost his touch. Another impressive result came in Brazil, where Lawson qualified fifth and finished ninth, which was followed by uncompetitive drives in Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

After years on the sidelines, Lawson had finally been given his big F1 break and proved himself as a worthy addition to the grid — twice. And so, for 2025, the Kiwi’s patience has been rewarded, with a full-time drive next to Max Verstappen at a front-running Red Bull outfit, keen on returning to the top.