Who is Red Bull star Liam Lawson? The young driver replacing Sergio Perez

Liam Lawson, generic, 2024 — Photo: © IMAGO

Red Bull

Who is Red Bull star Liam Lawson? The young driver replacing Sergio Perez

Liam Lawson will race with Red Bull in 2025

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 19 December 2024 19:00

Liam Lawson was finally announced as the latest driver to have a Formula 1 seat for 2025, ending months of speculation over his future.

Red Bull and Sergio Perez parted ways this week, with VCARB drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Lawson the logical candidates to replace the Mexican.

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Tsunoda has raced full-time in F1 since 2021, proving his worth to Red Bull by defeating team-mates Nyck de Vries, Daniel Ricciardo and Lawson in recent years, while Lawson has spent just 11 races in F1 across 2023 and 2024.

However, it is the 22-year-old Kiwi who will now be given a chance to impress at Red Bull's main team.

Early life and career of Liam Lawson

Having claimed two karting championship titles in 2014, Lawson made the step up to single-seater racing via the Formula First Manfeild Winter Series in 2015, claiming 10 podiums and one victory on his way to runner-up in the championship in his first season.

In 2016, Lawson became the youngest ever Formula Ford champion in the world at the time by dominating the field in the NZ F1600 Championship Series, winning 14 out of a possible 15 races.

Lawson continued to rise up through the ranks in the coming years before signing as part of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2019, competing in F3 with the MP Motorsport team.

However, it was his second season in the series where he really announced himself, joining the Hitech GP team and claiming three wins and six podiums across the 2020 championship.

Hitech GP then promoted Lawson into F2 for the 2021 season. Lawson spent two seasons in F1's feeder series, claiming five wins and 13 podiums in that time, also being snapped up as a test and reserve driver for both AlphaTauri and Red Bull F1 teams in the 2022 season.

Liam Lawson replaced Daniel Ricciardo after the Singapore GP

How many F1 races has Lawson competed in?

It was this role that would ultimately see the Kiwi be given his first opportunity in F1. While competing in a hotly-contested Super Formula championship battle in 2023, Lawson was also asked to compete in F1, stepping in for Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri after the Aussie injured his wrist.

During the five races in which Lawson deputised for Ricciardo, the Kiwi impressed his employers, even scoring points at the Singapore Grand Prix despite the Faenza-based team's clear struggles throughout the year.

Despite this, AlphaTauri - who changed their name to VCARB - decided to keep Ricciardo and Tsunoda as their drivers for 2024, with Lawson once again demoted to reserve driver.

However, following a poor 2024 for F1 legend Ricciardo, Lawson was called upon to once again replace the Aussie, this time on a more permanent basis after the 2024 Singapore GP.

While not setting the world alight during his six further races in the series in 2024, it now appears Lawson did enough to be promoted up to the main team ahead of Tsunoda for the 2025 season, partnering Verstappen.

Red Bull Daniel Ricciardo Sergio Perez Yuki Tsunoda Liam Lawson