Liam Lawson has revealed the surprising moment Red Bull called him up to return to the senior team for the Dutch Grand Prix. The 24-year-old New Zealander was drafted in at short notice to replace Isack Hadjar, who suffered a wrist injury during the F1 summer break.
The news came just days before the race at Zandvoort, on Monday. Lawson said he had just landed in the UK after a break, expecting to prepare for the weekend with Racing Bulls, Red Bull's sister team. But a phone call from Alan Permane, Red Bull's sporting director, changed everything.
"I literally landed, I hadn't even got off the plane," Lawson said. "I had come from basically being on break and landed in the UK for what I thought was going to be obviously VCARB prep. Alan called me and basically he told me what was going on. So then my week changed pretty quickly."
With such short notice, Lawson only managed one simulator outing with Red Bull before being thrown in at the deep end. Despite that, he is trying to draw on his valuable F1 experience, including his debut at Zandvoort in 2023, when he replaced Daniel Ricciardo, who broke his hand.
"It's a unique situation to try and maximise one weekend," he said. "I've learned a huge amount since then. It's a tough track, and the weather is going to be very interesting as well. So, yeah, let's see."
Lawson also made clear he is not thinking about a permanent Red Bull seat for next season. His focus is on delivering a strong performance this weekend, while also keeping an eye on his other championship campaign. "For sure, it's a great opportunity, but at the same time, I've got my championship that I'm also focused on," he added.
The sprint weekend format adds to the challenge facing Lawson. However, he admitted that past difficult experiences have helped prepare him for situations like this. "I've had some pretty tough weekends in F1, including three years ago at Zandvoort. I would hope that this is not tougher than that," he concluded.
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