Liam Lawson

Liam Jared Lawson was born on 11 February 2002 in Hastings, New Zealand. He was raised in Pukekohe, which was home to Pukekohe Park Raceway, located in the Auckland Region of the North Island. His parents sold their house to fund his racing career. He plays the guitar and has recorded music. He went to the same school in Waiau Pa with Supercars driver Matt Payne. == Junior racing career ==

Karting Lawson began karting in 2008, competing in numerous championships across New Zealand, including two karting titles in 2014. Each year, he returned to the Kartsport Auckland Go Kart Club on Rosebank Road, Avondale and competed in the big City of Sails race on Auckland Anniversary Weekend according to Speedhive myLaps, the transponder company that was used. Lower formulae In 2015, Lawson made his single-seater debut in the Formula First Manfeild Winter Series with Sabre Motorsport, taking a win and ten podiums to finish second overall. A few months later, he joined Sabre to contest the NZ Formula First championship, taking a win and three podiums on his way to sixth in the championship and the Rookie of the Year title. The following year, Lawson graduated to the NZ F1600 Championship Series. There he dominated proceedings, claiming fourteen of the fifteen victories on offer to become the youngest champion in not just the series' history, but the youngest ever Formula Ford champion in world at the time. In 2017, Lawson moved up to the Australian F4 championship with BRM, taking five wins to finish second in only his rookie season. The following year, Lawson remained at Formula 4 level, moving across to contest the ADAC Formula 4 championship with Van Amersfoort Racing and received backing from Turner's, the New Zealand used car network that had previously sponsored IndyCar champion Scott Dixon. Claiming three wins and three pole positions, Lawson's performances saw him claim his second consecutive F4 runner up position, behind Lirim Zendeli. Toyota Racing Series In November 2018, Lawson joined M2 Competition for the 2019 championship. Lawson dominated on debut at Highlands, taking two races wins by over nine-seconds each and won the Dorothy Smith Memorial Trophy as a result of winning Race 3. Claiming three additional wins across the season, Lawson secured the title at the New Zealand Grand Prix after a season long battle with Ferrari junior and fellow countryman Marcus Armstrong. Euroformula Open Championship Lawson had been set to join the inaugural season of the Formula European Masters with Motopark, alongside fellow Red Bull Junior Yuki Tsunoda, but followed the German outfit to the Euroformula Open Championship when Formula European Masters was cancelled due to a lack of entrants. Lawson won the opening races at Paul Ricard, and also in Pau. He would go on to take two more victories to become runner-up to Marino Sato. He did however, win the rookies' championship. International Formula 3 In November 2018, Lawson competed in the season finale of the Asian F3 championship with Irish outfit Pinnacle Motorsport. He proceeded to dominate the weekend, taking all wins, fastest laps and pole positions on offer to finish eighth in the championship. FIA Formula 3 Championship 2019 during the 2019 Spielberg Formula 3 round In March 2019, Lawson joined MP Motorsport to contest the inaugural FIA Formula 3 Championship, alongside Richard Verschoor and Simo Laaksonen. His debut at Barcelona proved challenging, qualifying lowest of the MP Motorsport drivers and retired from Race 1 due to a throttle motor failure. Improvement followed in Paul Ricard, where he scored his first points with ninth place in Race 1 and further advanced to fifth in Race 2. After failing to score in Austria, he rebounded in Silverstone and held the lead for half of the race before being overtaken by Leonardo Pulcini and Robert Shwartzman, eventually securing third place. The result marked both Lawson's and MP Motorsport's first podium of the season. Lawson endured scoreless rounds in Hungary and Spa-Francorchamps before returning to form in Monza. After qualifying thirteenth, he progressed to seventh in Race 1, giving him a front row start in Race 2. Although he dropped positions at the start, Lawson recovered and passed Fabio Scherer and Jake Hughes to finish second behind Yuki Tsunoda, earning his second podium. In the final round in Sochi, Lawson made up ten positions in Race 2 to finish eighth, after overtaking Max Fewtrell and Christian Lundgaard on the last lap. Overall, Lawson concluded the season eleventh in the championship with 41 points, scoring both of the team's podium finishes. Macau Grand Prix Just two weeks after the final round, Lawson was announced to compete at that year's Macau Grand Prix, remaining with MP Motorsport. Lawson qualified fifteenth, but in the qualification race slipped back to twentieth, before eventually coming through to finish seventh. 2020 Lawson moved to Hitech Grand Prix for the season, partnering Max Fewtrell and Red Bull junior Dennis Hauger. He opened the season in Austria by qualifying twelfth and improving to sixth in the first race. and charged to sixth. In Race 2, Lawson climbed to third before overtaking Clément Novalak and David Beckmann to move into the race lead. He resisted late-race pressure from former teammate Richard Verschoor to secure his maiden Formula 3 victory. During the second Austrian round, Lawson qualified tenth and finished eighth place in wet conditions in Race 1. Starting third in Race 2, he moved into the lead after passing Jake Hughes and Théo Pourchaire. A prolonged battle ultimately ended in a collision between the pair on lap 21, resulting in a double retirement which handed the win to Pourchaire. Lawson endured a difficult weekend in Hungary, retiring from both races due to mechanical failures. From Silverstone onwards, Lawson scored points in every remaining race of the season. There, he narrowly missed out on pole position, but overtook polesitter Logan Sargeant on the opening lap to claim his second win of the year. He added a seventh place in Race 2. During the second Silverstone round, Lawson again qualified second and finished third in the opening race, before narrowly missing a podium in Race 2 after running wide while battling Pourchaire. In Barcelona, Lawson qualified third despite an engine issue compromising his pole position attempt. He finished second in Race 1 after overtaking Sargeant late on; followed by seventh in Race 2, which elevated him to third in the championship standings. In Spa-Francorchamps, Lawson finished seventh in Race 1 and recovered to third in Race 2 after losing positions at the start. Lawson initially qualified fourth in Monza. Lawson inherited pole position in Monza following post-qualifying penalties. Damage sustained in early contact with Matteo Nannini limited him to sixth in Race 1. In Race 2, he finished second on the road after briefly leading, but a post-race penalty for forcing another driver off-track dropped him to seventh. He concluded his season in Mugello, by finishing tenth in the first race, before dominating Race 2 to secure his third victory of the season. Lawson finished fifth in the championship with 143 points, recording three wins and six podiums throughout the season. Road to Indy In December 2017, Lawson partook in the Mazda Road to Indy Shootout, finishing as the fastest driver but losing out on the scholarship to Ireland's Keith Donegan. FIA Formula 2 Championship 2021 On January 2021, Lawson was announced to be competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Hitech Grand Prix alongside Jüri Vips. Lawson qualified eighth on his debut in Bahrain. In the opening sprint race, he made a strong start to take the lead and successfully defended against late pressure from Jehan Daruvala to secure his maiden win on debut. His fortunes were reversed in the second sprint however, as Lawson was taken out by Felipe Drugovich in a three-way scrap for third place. Nevertheless, he redeemed himself with third place in the feature after a pass on Richard Verschoor on the last lap. Lawson ended the opening round second in the championship. In Monaco, Lawson qualified twelfth and finished ninth in the first sprint race. He started the second sprint from pole position after Marcus Armstrong was unable to take the grid. After briefly losing the lead, Lawson reclaimed first place with an overtake on Oscar Piastri at Rascasse and went on to take the chequered flag in first. However, he was later disqualified for using a prohibited throttle map, handing victory to Dan Ticktum. He later described his disqualification as "hard to swallow". He finished seventh in the feature race. Lawson claimed his maiden pole position in Baku, forming a front row for Hitech. His opening sprint race ended early after contact with Piastri broke his suspension, but recovered to finish seventh in the second sprint despite a power loss. In the feature race, an aggressive defence on Théo Pourchaire during the opening lap earned Lawson a ten-second penalty; he eventually finished sixth. In Silverstone, Lawson qualified eleventh and scored points in both sprint races, finishing seventh and fifth respectively. He placed just outside the points in the feature race. In Monza, Lawson qualified fourth but front wing damage forced him into a pit stop early during the opening sprint race; he managed to recover to fifth. He finished fourth in the second sprint and ran as high as second in the feature race before retiring due to a power issue. Lawson qualified eighth in Sochi, but retired from the first sprint after damaging his suspension while running third. Lawson finished seventh in the feature race after a slow start. In Jeddah, Lawson qualified tenth and started from reverse pole in the first sprint, but was outdragged by Marcus Armstrong on the opening lap; nevertheless he finished second which marked his first podium since Bahrain. He retired from the second sprint after crashing out late in the race, and finished ninth in an aborted feature race. Lawson qualified seventh for the Yas Marina finale. He finished fifth and sixth in the sprint races, but retired from the feature race due to an engine issue. Lawson concluded his rookie season ninth in the championship with 103 points, scoring one win and three podiums. 2022 during the 2022 Spielberg Formula 2 round Lawson switched that he would race for Carlin in the 2022 season alongside American Logan Sargeant. He began his campaign strongly in Bahrain, qualifying sixth. He finished third in the sprint after passing Ralph Boschung late, and followed this with second place in the feature race after avoiding incidents among the leading runners, thereby coming away with a double podium. Following the round, Lawson noted that he felt more comfortable in Formula 2 after contesting a dual campaign in the 2021 DTM season. In Jeddah, Lawson qualified fifth and soon found himself in podium contention during the sprint race after Dennis Hauger's pit lane error. Following a safety car restart, he swiftly overcame Calan Williams and Jake Hughes to secure his first win of the season. He was set to continue his podium streak running third during the feature race, but retired due to a loose wheel immediately after his pit stop, nevertheless he retained second place in the championship. Lawson endured a difficult triple-header thereafter. In Imola, he qualified fourteenth and recovered to eighth in the sprint race, but retired from the feature race after a steering wheel failure caused a crash. In Barcelona, Lawson qualified sixteenth and narrowly missed points in the sprint race. Despite a strong start in the feature race, he faded to ninth after losing places to cars on fresher tyres. In Monaco, Lawson initially secured pole position, but his lap was deleted for failing to slow under yellow flags, and he received a five-place grid penalty for the sprint race. He scored a point with eighth in the sprint but stalled on the grid in the feature race and later retired with engine issues. Lawson returned to form in Baku, qualifying second. He finished third after a strong restart late in the race saw him gain multiple positions, but suffered a puncture after being hit by Jack Doohan in the feature race; he was forced to pit which resulted in a fifteenth place finish. In Silverstone, Lawson qualified fifth. Contact in the sprint race caused front wing damage which necessitated a pit stop, and he finished 20th. In the feature race, he made a strong start to move into third, and held the position to take another podium. In the Austria, Lawson qualified fourteenth and retired from the sprint race after stalling on the grid and encountering technical issues. He salvaged a point with tenth in the feature race after opting for slick tyres at the start. Lawson qualified ninth in Paul Ricard. After briefly losing second at the start of the sprint race, Lawson eventually made the move for the lead with a late pass on Jehan Daruvala, earning him his second win of the year. He finished sixth in the feature race. In Hungary, Lawson qualified eleventh and recovered to sixth in the sprint race. He placed seventh in the feature race on the alternate strategy. At Spa-Francorchamps, Lawson qualified sixth. A good start moved him into second at the start, before overtaking Ralph Boschung on the next lap to secure another victory. He followed this with a third place in the feature race after a battle with Enzo Fittipaldi. In Zandvoort, Lawson qualified sixth position and finished fourth in the sprint race after overtaking Vips at the start. A strategy gamble on hard tyres in the feature race was compromised by a safety car, leaving him twelfth at the finish. In Monza, Lawson qualified second. He recovered from an average start in the sprint race to finish sixth, later promoted to fifth following a post-race penalty for Richard Verschoor. In the feature race, Lawson briefly led after overtaking Doohan at the start but lost time after failing to capitalise on a pit stop under the safety car. He was later spun around by Vips which caused front wing damage, and eventually finished thirteenth. At the Abu Dhabi finale, Lawson qualified ninth and secured his fourth victory of the season in the sprint race after overtaking Verschoor. In the feature race, he finished third after an early pit stop proved successful. Lawson concluded the season third in the drivers' championship with 149 points, four victories and ten podiums. == Formula One career ==

In February 2019, Lawson joined the Red Bull Junior Team. In July 2021, Lawson got his first experience in an F1 car at the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed, driving the 2011 Red Bull RB7. Lawson took part in the Young Driver Test at the Yas Marina Circuit at the end of the 2021 season with Scuderia AlphaTauri, driving the AT02. For the 2022 season, he served as a reserve/test driver for AlphaTauri. In March 2022 Franz Tost revealed that Lawson would make his Formula One debut in a free practice session for them during the season. He made his free practice debut at the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix. Following then-reserve driver Jüri Vips' exclamation of the racial slur "nigga" during a Twitch livestream (in which, incidentally, Lawson was also present) during June 2022, team principal Christian Horner confirmed that Lawson had been promoted to replace Vips as the reserve driver for Red Bull Racing, sharing this role with AlphaTauri. Lawson made another FP1 appearance with AlphaTauri at the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix. He made his Red Bull debut during practice at the season-ending . Lawson then took part in the post-season tests in Abu Dhabi driving the Red Bull. Lawson continued as reserve driver for Red Bull and AlphaTauri in 2023. In February, he drove the RB7 for a demonstration run during the 2023 Bathurst 12 Hour. Following the British Grand Prix, Nyck de Vries was removed from his seat at AlphaTauri, with Daniel Ricciardo being chosen ahead of Lawson to replace the Dutchman. Following the announcement, Lawson stated that he "understood their decision" and commented that jumping in mid-season would be "extremely tough". AlphaTauri / Racing Bulls (2023–2024) 2023: Debut in a reserve role Lawson made his Formula One debut at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix for AlphaTauri, temporarily replacing Ricciardo after he sustained a broken hand in a crash in Friday's second free practice session. With limited practice time which included a spin, he qualified in 20th. Despite a ten-second penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen in the pits, Lawson finished in 13th place in a challenging and eventful debut race. Most notably, it included battling with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and finishing higher than his AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda. On 28 August 2023, AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost stated that Lawson would likely continue to race for the team at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix. This statement was confirmed hours later, as Lawson would also be keeping his replacement role until Ricciardo is fit to race. Lawson qualified in 12th place at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix and finished in 11th place. At the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, Lawson qualified a career-best tenth place, most notably, knocking championship leader Max Verstappen out of the second part of qualifying. After fending off Alex Albon during the last laps, Lawson finished the race in ninth, scoring points for the first time in Formula One as well as becoming the second AlphaTauri driver that year to score. Lawson finished in eleventh at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, ahead of Tsunoda in 12th. Lawson endured a rough final appearance at the , where he spun out of the sprint and finished last of the runners during the race. Ricciardo was well enough to return for the following , and Lawson returned to his reserve role. 2024: Late-season stint Lawson continued his role as reserve driver for Red Bull Racing and RB Formula One Team (the rebranded AlphaTauri) in 2024. Lawson completed a filming day with the Red Bull RB20 in mid-July at Silverstone, following the British Grand Prix. At the end of July, he completed another day of testing for RB with the 2022 AlphaTauri AT03 at Imola. Due to poor performances by Ricciardo in the early parts of the season, rumors speculated that Lawson could replace him mid-season, but Ricciardo denied later in the season that manager Helmut Marko had threatened to do so. At the , Lawson started 19th due to engine penalties. Starting on the hard tyre, Lawson went long and was able to jump teammate Tsunoda during the pit stops. His efforts yielded him ninth place, which received praise from Christian Horner. Lawson qualified for the in 12th. He had a contentious battle in the race with Red Bull driver Sergio Pérez, and made contact with him, causing Lawson to raise his middle finger at him after passing him a few laps later. He ultimately finished one place ahead of Pérez in 16th, and later apologised as he admitted that it was "not something that [I] should have done". After narrowly missing out on points in his first sprint at the , Lawson produced his best qualifying result to date in a rain-hit session, securing fifth on the grid, two places behind Tsunoda. In the race, although he was spun by Oscar Piastri on lap 26, Lawson was able to withstand the treacherous conditions and finish in ninth place. At the , starting 14th, Lawson attempted a one-stop strategy, but a long second stint left him pitting late and he eventually finished 16th. Lawson had a miserable , colliding with Valtteri Bottas in the opening laps which earned him a ten-second penalty. Attaining floor damage from the contact, he was left to finish in 13th place. At the , Lawson had another troubled race when his front left wheel was not fitted correctly during his pit stop, forcing him to pit again. A mechanical issue later forced him out of the race with three laps remaining. Lawson finished the season 21st in the standings, collecting four points across the six Grand Prix he competed in. Red Bull (2025) Lawson was promoted to Red Bull in to replace Sergio Pérez, partnering defending four-time World Drivers' Champion Max Verstappen. Lawson qualified last for both the sprint and main race in China, finishing fourteenth at the former and twelfth at the latter following three disqualifications—and a penalty for Jack Doohan—ahead of him; Red Bull opened discussions to replace him with Yuki Tsunoda after his performances in the opening two rounds. Team adviser Helmut Marko admitted Red Bull "made a mistake" in their decision to promote Lawson only 11 Grands Prix into his career, adding that he "lost confidence and [couldn't] show his real potential". He finished seventeenth on his return after a strategic error, having qualified fourteenth. Lawson received two penalties as he finished sixteenth at the : one for causing a collision with Lance Stroll and another with Nico Hülkenberg. He finished eleventh in Saudi Arabia, dropped to twelfth after receiving a 10-second time penalty for leaving the circuit. He finished thirteenth in the Miami sprint after receiving a five-second penalty for a collision with Fernando Alonso, and retired during the main race due to floor damage. He scored his first points of the season at the , where he played a key role in helping teammate Hadjar finish sixth, as he claimed eighth. He scored points again at the in a career-best sixth. He sustained terminal damage after colliding with Esteban Ocon on the opening lap of the . Lawson finished eighth at both the Belgian and Hungarian Grands Prix, holding Max Verstappen behind him at the latter. Lawson broke both his qualifying and race finish records at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, qualifying third and finishing fifth. Lawson finished 15th at the Singapore Grand Prix, remaining 9 points adrift of Hadjar in the drivers' standings. 2026: New regulations Lawson is contracted to remain at Racing Bulls in , partnered by rookie Arvid Lindblad. == Other racing ==

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (2021) Lawson competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) in 2021, driving a Red Bull-sponsored Ferrari 488 GT3 for AF Corse alongside Formula One reserve driver Alex Albon. He competed in the championship concurrently with his rookie Formula 2 campaign. Lawson made an immediate impact on his debut in Monza, winning the opening race. In doing so, he became the youngest-ever race winner in the DTM history. After a spin in the second Monza race costed him a points finish, he finished second in both races at the Lausitzring, leading the second race before losing the win due to an issue during his pit stop. Following a challenging mid-season run in which he failed to score points in three of the next four races, Lawson returned to winning form at the Red Bull Ring. He secured his first pole position and later converted into his second victory during the opening race. The following day, Lawson claimed another win after starting second, strengthening his title challenge. Lawson continued to score consistently in the latter stages of the season, recording four podium finishes and a fourth-place finish over the next five races, Heading into the final race at the Norisring, he qualified on pole position and led the drivers' championship by 19 points over Kelvin van der Linde, with Maximilian Götz a further three points adrift of van der Linde. However, Lawson's championship unravelled at the start when contact with van der Linde on the opening lap damaged his car, which left him lapping significantly off the pace after rejoining. Furthermore, Mercedes team orders to Lucas Auer and Philip Ellis enabled Götz to move into the lead and secure the victory, putting him three points ahead of Lawson. Van der Linde was later given a five-second penalty for his involvement in the opening-lap incident. Lawson finished the season runner-up in the drivers' championship. Following the conclusion of the campaign, he expressed his dissatisfaction of the title outcome, stating that van der Linde was "the dirtiest guy [he's] ever raced against." Lawson also stated that he no longer intended to remain in the series. Super Formula (2023) Lawson left Formula 2 at the end of 2022 and contested the 2023 Super Formula Championship with reigning champions Team Mugen alongside two-time drivers' champion Tomoki Nojiri. He made an immediate impression, qualifying third for his series debut in Fuji and becoming the first driver to win on their Japanese Top Formula debut since 1978. In the second race, Lawson ran in third, but a safety car infringement penalty demoted him to fifth. In Suzuka, he qualified ninth but recovered strongly to finish fourth. In Autopolis, he qualified second while teammate Nojiri was sidelined due to a collapsed lung, Lawson managed to undercut polesitter Sho Tsuboi during the pit cycle and resisted a late charge from Ritomo Miyata to secure the win, moving him into the championship lead. A more difficult weekend followed in Sugo, qualifying sixth. A radio miscommunication during the race limited Lawson to fifth, allowing Miyata to take a 12-point lead in the standings. Lawson responded decisively in the second Fuji round, claiming his second win and closing the championship deficit to a single point. In Motegi, Lawson qualified third, scoring a point and briefly taking the championship lead. However, he spun at the while attempting to pass Nojiri, triggering a multi-car pileup which red-flagged the race. A subsequent drive-through penalty for work carried out on his car under red-flag conditions left him classified thirteenth. Lawson praised his team's efforts in repairing his car in time for the restart. Heading into the Suzuka double-header finale, Lawson trailed Miyata by eight points. He qualified seventh for the opening race but an early red flag confined him to sixth. Lawson then took his first and only pole of the season for the second race. He lost the lead to Kakunoshin Ota at the start and ultimately finished second. Lawson concluded the season runner-up in the standings recording one pole, three wins, four podiums and 106.5 points. Lawson did not continue in Super Formula for 2024, opting to focus full-time on his reserve driver commitments, and was replaced in his seat by Ayumu Iwasa. == Karting record ==

Karting career summary == Racing record ==

Racing career summary • Season still in progress. Complete Australian Formula 4 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) Complete Toyota Racing Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) Complete New Zealand Grand Prix results Complete Euroformula Open Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) ‡ Half points were awarded, as less than 75% of the scheduled distance was completed. Complete Macau Grand Prix results Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers) ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. † Driver did not finish the race, but were classified, as they completed more than 90% of the race distance. Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Complete Super Formula results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) ‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. • Season still in progress.--> Complete Formula One results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance. Season still in progress. == Notes ==