Liam Lawson.

1. Who is Liam Lawson?
2. Liam Lawson's junior journey
3. Liam Lawson's Grand Prix (F1) career
4. AutoHebdo's opinion on Liam Lawson
5. Learn more about Liam Lawson

1. Who is Liam Lawson?

Liam Lawson is a New Zealand racing driver, born on February 11, 2002 in Hastings. He competes in Formula 1 for Racing Bulls after having been part of the Red Bull Junior Team program.

Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls, F1, Isack Hadjar, Yuki Tsunoda, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Liam Lawson is once again sporting the colors of Red Bull's sister team after a brief stint with the Austrian outfit in 2025. © DPPI

2. Liam Lawson's junior journey

Lawson made his single-seater debut in the Formula First Manfield Winter Series with Sabre Motorsport in 2015. He joined the NZ Formula First Championship (Formula Vee) a few months later with the same team. The New Zealander finished as the top rookie, placing sixth in the Drivers' Championship. The following year, Lawson competed in the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship, becoming the youngest driver to win the series title and also the youngest in Formula Ford history.

Lawson, the youngest Formula Ford champion © Geoff Ridder via Liam Lawson's website

In 2017, the Kiwi competed in the Australian Formula 4 Championship with BRM and rose to second place thanks to his 5 victories. Lawson continued in 2018 in Formula 4, this time in the German championship and once again finished second behind Lirim Zendeli before driving in the Toyota Racing Series the following year. Simultaneously, the Hastings native competed in the first edition of the Euroformula Open at the end of which he finished second. To prepare for his promotion to Formula 3, he joined the last race of the Asian F3 season with Pinnacle Motorsport.

Liam Lawson in 2019 during the Euroformula Open. © DPPI

For the inaugural Formula 3 championship in 2019, Lawson joined MP Motorsport for a difficult season that saw him finish only eleventh in the drivers' standings. After a move to Hitech Grand Prix, his 2020 season was more successful despite numerous incidents. Finishing fifth in the championship, he was invited to the Formula 2 post-season tests by his team before being announced alongside Jüri Vips for 2021. He concluded his first campaign in the feeder series to F1 in ninth place with one win and three podium finishes. The New Zealander announced he would be joining Carlin with Logan Sargeant for the 2022 season. With ten podium finishes, including four wins, Lawson finished third behind Felipe Drugovich and Théo Pourchaire.

Lawson in Formula 2 during the 2022 season. © Sebastian Rozendaal / Dutch Photo Agency / DPPI

3. Liam Lawson's Grand Prix (F1) career

Lawson made his Formula One debut at the 1 Goodwood Festival of Speed in the RB2021. Later that year, he took part in post-season testing with Alpha Tauri before being announced as the reserve driver for 7. He had his first official session in Free Practice 2022 at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps in Pierre Gasly's AT1. The New Zealander was promoted to Red Bull Racing reserve driver in June 03, following an incident on Twitch involving Jüri Vips who was occupying the role. The Kiwi took part in a second free practice session at the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix before driving the RB2022 in the post-season young driver test.

Lawson in the RB18 during post-season testing in 2022. © DPPI

In 2023, the reserve driver shared by Alpha Tauri and Red Bull was called upon several times. Liam Lawson replaced Daniel Ricciardo, who suffered a fractured metacarpal in his left hand, during Free Practice 2 of the Dutch Grand Prix, finishing ahead of his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. He then lined up on the grid for the Italian Grand Prix and then the Singapore Grand Prix, a race in which he scored his very first points in Formula 1 thanks to a fine ninth place.

With Ricciardo not fully recovered, the driver also starts the Japanese and Qatar Grand Prix, a final round that ended in a disappointing twentieth place. His story with the Australian does not end there as he replaces him for the last six events of the 2024 season after poor results. He replaces Sergio Perez at Red Bull in 2025.

Liam Lawson briefly joined Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2025. © Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

However, after only one retirement in Australia and a twelfth-place finish in China, Red Bull decided to replace him with the more experienced Yuki Tsunoda. Liam Lawson thus returned to Racing Bulls alongside French rookie Isack Hadjar. For the remainder of the season, he finished in the points seven times, scoring a total of 38 points and placing 14th in the Drivers' Championship, ahead of his Japanese replacement at Red Bull, who finished 17th with 33 points. Liam Lawson was retained by Racing Bulls for the 2026 season.

4. AutoHebdo's opinion on Liam Lawson

Liam Lawson is a resilient driver. His main strength lies in his remarkable ability to adapt to new cars and new championships. Conversely, he sometimes seems to struggle to maintain his level throughout an entire season, which he explains is why he often finishes in the top positions rather than winning the title. Liam Lawson has repeatedly demonstrated his ability to keep a cool head. It was this impressive mental fortitude that convinced Red Bull to entrust him with the second seat to Max Verstappen. However, this clearly wasn't enough, but he continues to develop within the sister team, likely under less pressure than the drivers who retain the second Red Bull seat.