Liam Lawson

Early Career of Liam Lawson

Lawson began his journey in motorsport at the age of seven in karting. His career included participation in various championships in New Zealand and two national titles in 2014. In 2015, he switched to motorsport and raced in the New Zealand Formula First Manfield Winter Series with the Sabre Motorsport team. With one win and nine other podium finishes, he finished second in the championship. Lawson also raced for Sabre in the main championship of this class. He won a race and finished twice on the podium, finishing as the best rookie in sixth place in the standings. In 2016, he switched to the New Zealand F1600 Championship Series and became the youngest champion in the history of the championship with fourteen wins and a second place in fifteen races.

Liam Lawson F4 & F3

In 2017, Lawson competed in the Australian Formula 4 Championship with Team BRM. He won five races and stood on the podium in seven other races, finishing second in the final standings with 300 points. At the end of the year, he participated in the Mazda Road to Indy Shootout, where he was the fastest but ultimately lost the scholarship to Keith Donegan.

In 2018, Lawson moved to Europe to participate in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship with the Van Amersfoort Racing team. He achieved three wins and six other podium finishes, finishing second in the standings with 234 points. That same year, he made his Formula 3 debut in the Asian Formula 3 Championship with the Pinnacle Motorsport team. He dominated the final race weekend and finished eighth in the standings with 75 points.

Liam Lawson Toyota Racing Series and FIA Formula 3

In 2019, Lawson started the season in the New Zealand Toyota Racing Series with the M2 Competition team. After winning five races and six other podium finishes, he was crowned champion with 356 points. That same year, he made his debut in the new FIA Formula 3 Championship for the MP Motorsport team and the Euroformula Open for the Motopark team. In the FIA Formula 3, he achieved two podium finishes and finished eleventh in the final standings with 41 points. In the Euroformula Open, he achieved four wins and finished second in the standings with 179 points.

In 2020, Lawson again participated in the Toyota Racing Series, where he drove for M2 Competition. He won five races and stood on the podium in five other races, earning him a second place in the standings with 356 points. That year, he also continued in the FIA Formula 3 with the Hitech Grand Prix team, where he won three races and finished fifth in the final standings with 143 points.

Liam Lawson F2

In 2021, Lawson switched to Formula 2 and continued his collaboration with Hitech. He also made his DTM debut with the AF Corse team in a Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020. In Formula 2, he won his first race, but that was also his only win of the season. However, he achieved two more podium finishes and finished ninth in the final standings with 103 points. In the DTM, he achieved three wins and seven other podium finishes, but ultimately finished second in the championship, just three points behind the champion Maximilian Götz.

Liam Lawson F1

Lawson continued in Formula 2 in 2022 but switched to the Carlin team. He won four races and achieved six other podium finishes, resulting in a third place in the final standings with 149 points. He also made his Formula 1 debut during the first free practice for the Belgian Grand Prix, where he replaced Pierre Gasly at AlphaTauri. He finished the session in nineteenth place. He also drove the first free practice at the Grand Prix weekends in Mexico and in Abu Dhabi. He did this in Max Verstappen's Red Bull car.

In 2023, Lawson made the switch to Super Formula, supported by Red Bull and competing for Team Mugen. In addition, he is a test and reserve driver for both AlphaTauri and Red Bull Racing in 2023.

Liam Lawson replaces Daniel Ricciardo

At the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, Liam Lawson made his first appearance on the grid. Red Bull's young reserve driver was allowed to replace Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri from qualifying. Indeed, the good-humored Australian broke his hand during the second free practice and was unable to drive. Lawson qualified last and drove a good race on Sunday, managing to reach P13 despite the changing conditions.

Lawson has also now drove the Italian Grand Prix, the Singapore Grand Prix, the Japanese Grand Prix and the Qatar Grand Prix. The Kiwi even managed to take two points for the AlphaTauri team at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Liam Lawson gives up his spot to Daniel Ricciardo

Liam Lawson put on an impressive performance during his brief stint with AlphaTauri, participating in four races. The New Zealander outperformed his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, in three of these four races and even earned two valuable points for the Italian team. However, his season was cut short when Daniel Ricciardo made his return during the United States Grand Prix.

Future prospects for Liam Lawson

Red Bull has confirmed Liam Lawson's role as a reserve driver for the 2024 season. What the future holds for this New Zealander in Formula 1 after the 2024 season remains uncertain.