Liam Lawson profile: Background, junior career, racing record and more

Red Bull Racing have confirmed Liam Lawson will partner four-time world champion Max Verstappen for the 2025 Formula 1 season.

Lawson replaces the outgoing Sergio Perez, who announced he would be leaving the team with immediate effect following the conclusion of the 2024 campaign, despite having two years left on his contract.

After impressing during a brief substitute stint at Red Bull's sister team Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, Lawson has got the nod to join the six-time constructors' champions.

Liam Lawson age

Lawson was born on the 11th February 2002.

Liam Lawson place of birth

Lawson hails from Hastings, which is the heart of Hawke's Bay in New Zealand, but was raised in Pukekohe, a town in the Auckland Region.

Liam Lawson's junior career

The New Zealander began karting from the age of seven at his local Mt Wellington kart track and competed in national championships, resulting in two titles in 2014.

A year later he made his single-seater debut in the Formula First Manfeild Winter Series, finishing second with one win and 10 podiums, before making the transition to the NZ Formula First and then graduating to the NZ F1600 Championship Series, in which he won 14 of 15 races.

In 2017, Lawson competed in the Australian F4 championship and finished second overall in his debut season. Aged 16 a year later, he ventured to Europe and immediately tasted success in the ADAC F4 championship, taking three wins to end the campaign runner-up.

Lawson would continue to take the chequered flag in a variety of series including Toyota Racing Series, Euroformula Open and Asian F3 championship when Red Bull signed him as part of their Junior Team programme on his 17th birthday.

A month later and Lawson was preparing to contest the 2019 Formula 3 season with MP Motorsport. Outscoring teammates Richard Verschoor and Simo Laaksonen, the Kiwi finished the campaign in 11th, though fascinatingly it was the only full season of a series in which Lawson's competed in without taking a race victory.

Transferring to Hitech for the following term, three wins, six podiums and fifth place in the standings were enough to earn a seat in Formula 2 and Lawson made an immediate impression, winning on debut in the sprint in Bahrain. He appeared to have bagged another major triumph at the Monaco Grand Prix, only for a throttle map breach to result in his disqualification.

Lawson ended his maiden campaign ninth in the second tier, where he enjoyed a dual-campaign alongside competing in DTM. A move to Carlin beckoned in 2022 and Lawson claimed tallied victories in Saudi Arabia, France, Belgium and Abu Dhabi as he ended the season in third behind Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire.

Liam Lawson's racing record

F3 record

	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	Podiums	Points	Position
2019	MP Motorsport	16	0	0	2	41	11th
2020	Hitech	18	3	1	6	143	5th

F2 record

	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	Podiums	Points	Position
2021	Hitech	23	1	1	3	103	9th
2022	Carlin	28	4	0	10	149	3rd

Liam Lawson's Red Bull career

Part of the Red Bull Junior programme that has cultivated Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen, Lawson participated Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test at the end of the 2021 season with Alpha Tauri and was declared the team's reserve driver for the 2022 campaign.

It was a role he was later forced to balance with Red Bull reserve driver duties following the departure of Juri Vips and Lawson made his debut for the team in a free practice session at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where he was later involved in the post-season tests at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Lawson continued the dual reserve role in 2023 and despite being overlooked to replace Nyck de Vries at Alpha Tauri midway through the season, the New Zealander got his chance to compete in a Grand Prix as he deputised for the injured Ricciardo at Zandvoort.

Finishing ahead of his teammate Yuki Tsunoda on debut, Lawson's spell in the seat was prolonged in light of the severity of Ricciardo's injury and he competed in a total of five races, scoring points in a ninth-placed finish at Singapore.

Lawson had to wait another 11 months before an opportunity arose in an F1 seat and the youngster was drafted in at VCARB (previously Alpha Tauri) after Ricciardo was axed following the Singapore Grand Prix.

Another ninth-placed finish, this time in the USA Grand Prix, drew praise from Christian Horner but Lawson was in the spotlight a week later following a contentious battle with Perez at the Mexican Grand Prix, with the two clashing towards the back of the grid.

Lawson bounced back with a superb drive in interchangeable conditions in Brazil as he delivered another two points, despite being spun out by Oscar Piastri early on.

Liam Lawson's driving style

A fierce competitor, Lawson's aggressive style has drew criticism following clashes with Perez and Fernando Alonso, though it is a core reason why the New Zealander enjoyed such immense success in the early stages of his career.

His uncompromising manoeuvres draw similarities to the style of his new teammate Verstappen, with the four-time world champion a forceful figure on the circuit.

Lawson's not afraid to take risks and his self-confidence has endeared him to the Red Bull hierarchy, though it will certainly be tested as he takes on the daunting challenge of rivalling Verstappen.

Liam Lawson: What they said

I think if you're getting into a spat and getting your elbows out with Fernando (Alonso) on your first race back in, you're doing alright. He was fast, he was courageous and I thought it was an excellent comeback for him.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner on Lawson's drive at the 2024 United States Grand Prix (via ESPN)

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