Liam Lawson has been announced as Sergio Perez’s replacement for the 2025 Formula 1 season.
The 22-year-old New Zealander will be four-time world champion Max Verstappen’s teammate. It is a bold call from Red Bull as Lawson has made just 11 grand prix starts across two seasons for their junior team, RB.
Lawson got his debut in 2023 when Daniel Ricciardo broke his hand ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, making five appearances. He then replaced Ricciardo for good at this year’s U.S. Grand Prix in October.
At that race he had a tight on-track battle with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who accused the youngster of lacking respect.
Lawson refused to back down and had several close on-track fights with Perez at the end of the season.
“I will always try and make it as tough as possible,” Lawson told ESPN about his racing style. “That’s how I’ve always raced and it’s never personal against any driver, but I definitely won’t change the way that I race.”
F1 fans can expect more of the same now Lawson has front-running machinery.
His hard nosed racing style has already spawned a viral song, with the repeated lyric “I’m Liam Lawson, get out of my way!”, usually accompanied with videos of his aggressive race moves.
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Horner explains Red Bull picking Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner explains why Red Bull opted for Liam Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda to partner Max Verstappen in 2025.
Lawson joined Red Bull’s junior academy in 2019 after winning the Toyota Racing Series. He then did two years in Formula 3 and two in Formula 2, finishing third in 2022, although he stood out as a driver who would dip in and out of other categories as well.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner has told ESPN it was a marginal call between Lawson and his former RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
“A couple of things have stood out with me with Liam, is how versatile he is,” Horner told ESPN. “You put him into a situation, he gets on with it. If you remember his debut in Zandvoort after Daniel broke his fingers, he was racing against Max on his out lap.
“He’s got that kind of gritty racer mentality. He did a year in the DTM where he adjusted to driving a Ferrari GT car incredibly quickly alongside Alex Albon and generally had the upper hand. And again, his racecraft has been really one of his key strengths. So he’s not afraid to go wheel-to-wheel and even rub wheels where necessary. So I think he’s going to do a great job for us.”
Although F1 is often characterised as a sport for children of wealthy backgrounds or from racing families, there are drivers who buck that trend – Lewis Hamilton and Esteban Ocon being notable example on the current grid.
Lawson is another, having grown up in humble beginnings in New Zealand.
“My parents sold their house so that I could keep racing,” Lawson told the Red Bull podcast Talking Bull last year. “It’s massive. They gave absolutely everything for me to be able to race, even just go-karts because it’s so expensive.”
The 2025 F1 season kicks off with February’s preseason test in Bahrain, but Red Bull could opt to put Lawson in the car earlier as part of their season launch.
The first race of 2025 is the Australian Grand Prix on March 16.
Source: www.espn.com