Liam Lawson
New Zealander · Born 2002-02-11
Teams
About Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson is a New Zealand racing driver born on 11 February 2002. A Red Bull junior, he won the 2019 Toyota Racing Series and built a strong reputation in Formula 3, Formula 2, DTM and Japanese Super Formula, where he finished championship runner-up. He has scored 81 points across 44 starts to date.
Lawson first appeared in F1 in 2023, deputising for the injured Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri and impressing with a points finish in Singapore. He returned for a full run with the renamed RB team late in 2024 and was handed a seat at the senior Red Bull Racing squad for the start of 2025, but after a difficult opening to the season he was moved back to Racing Bulls, where he rebuilt his form and finished 14th overall.
In 2026 Lawson began the season at Racing Bulls and delivered a settled, consistent campaign. When Isack Hadjar was ruled out with a wrist injury in August, Lawson stepped up to Red Bull Racing alongside Max Verstappen from the Dutch Grand Prix, taking a fine seventh at Zandvoort despite a ten-second penalty. After fourteen rounds he sits tenth in the drivers' standings on 57 points, having backed up his Zandvoort return with sixth place in the first Spanish Grand Prix at Madrid.
Career Highlights
- Runner-up in the 2023 Japanese Super Formula championship
- Scored points deputising at AlphaTauri in 2023
- Promoted to Red Bull Racing for the start of 2025
- Recalled to Red Bull Racing in August 2026 as injury cover for Isack Hadjar, scoring on his return at Zandvoort
Racing Style & Legacy
Lawson is a determined and resilient racer with a combative wheel-to-wheel style, traits forged through a varied apprenticeship across multiple international categories. Having weathered the pressure of a brief Red Bull Racing stint, he has shown maturity in regrouping at Racing Bulls and stands as New Zealand's leading Formula 1 representative.