Liam Lawson

Entering the new Formula 1 regulation era in 2026, Liam Lawson is driving for the Racing Bulls team (formerly AlphaTauri) alongside rookie driver Arvid Lindblad. Lawson spearheads the team, which now uses power units from the Red Bull and Ford partnership. At the start of the 2026 season, Lawson has shown very solid performances. This was proven by his success in scoring double points at the Chinese Grand Prix, finishing 7th in both the Sprint and the Main Race. This achievement proves his resilience amidst the challenges of adapting to the latest generation of F1 cars.

Formula 1 Career Journey

1. Surprise Debut and Proving Ground (2023 - 2024) Lawson's journey in the pinnacle of F1 competition began dramatically at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix. Serving as a Red Bull reserve driver, he was suddenly called up to drive for Scuderia AlphaTauri, replacing Daniel Ricciardo, who was sidelined with a broken hand. Lawson immediately impressed and managed to score his maiden points at the Singapore Grand Prix. In 2024, after returning to his reserve driver role for most of the season, Lawson was once again trusted to replace Ricciardo full-time for the final six races. His impressive performances at the end of the season successfully secured his future on the F1 grid.

2. The Dynamics of Promotion and Demotion (2025) The year 2025 became a season full of turbulence as well as an important learning curve for the New Zealander. Thanks to his brilliant performance at the end of 2024, Red Bull management promoted Lawson to the main Oracle Red Bull Racing team to partner with world champion Max Verstappen at the start of the season. However, his tenure at the main team turned out to be very short-lived. After completing only the first two races, Red Bull made the decision to return him to the Racing Bulls satellite team. Despite having to face the bitter reality of a quick demotion, Lawson showed a steely mentality. He managed to rebuild his rhythm, performed consistently with Racing Bulls for the remainder of the season, and closed the 2025 final standings in 14th place with 38 points.

3. A Leader in the New Era (2026 - Present) Securing a seat at Racing Bulls for the 2026 season, Lawson admitted to feeling relieved and much more motivated. Armed with the bitter and sweet experiences of previous years, he has now taken on a leadership role within the team. With completely new engine regulations, Lawson is tasked with providing crucial technical feedback for the development of the VCARB 03 chassis, while also serving as a performance benchmark for his new teammate.

Junior Career and Other Racing Series

Before breaking into Formula 1, Liam Lawson had an outstanding track record in various competitive racing series. Since joining the Red Bull Junior Team in 2019, he has consistently been a title contender across multiple categories:

• DTM (2021): Making a sensational appearance with the AF Corse Ferrari GT3 car, Lawson narrowly missed out on becoming the champion and had to settle for finishing as the runner-up in his debut season.
• Formula 2 (2022): Competing in the F1 feeder series, Lawson showed consistent pace and successfully secured third place in the final championship standings.
• Japanese Super Formula (2023): Lawson took the Japanese racing scene by storm, making history as the first driver to win a race on his debut appearance in the series, and fought fiercely for the championship title until the final race.