How Liam Lawson Caught the Formula 1 Bug

Liam Lawson has lofty standards. After the stand-in AlphaTauri bagged his first points in the sport at the Singapore Grand Prix he criticised his race starts.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, the 21-year-old said: “I need to sort these starts because it’s two weekends in a row that I’ve lost two spots off the line, and it’s making our life more difficult.”

Lawson scored two points after finishing ninth in a chaotic race around the tricky Marina Bay street circuit. For context, former AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries left the sport pointless after 10 grands prix in the same car.

It was the Italian-based team’s highest finish of the season and amplified Lawson’s ability in the top tier of motorsport. He has been deputising for Daniel Ricciardo since the Dutch GP after the Aussie suffered seven bone fractures in his hand during a nasty crash.

Born in Hastings, New Zealand the fresh-faced youngster began racing go-karts at age seven and moved on to racing entry-level saloon cars.

In 2018 he won the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship in 2017 and a year later the Kiwi driver signed with Van Amersfoort Racing in the Netherlands. Lawson made his debut in the 2018 ADAC German Formula 4 Championship at 16.

He has always dreamed of driving in Formula 1 and made it clear back in 2018 when he signed for Van Amersfoort. “Ever since I was very young I dreamed of racing in Europe and trying to get to Formula 1, so this is the very first step in making that dream come true,” Lawson said.

However, ironically Red Bull took notice of Lawson when returned home and competed in the Toyota Racing Series. He won two races and performed a daring overtake over the weekend. That performance sealed the deal for the young driver and he joined Red Bull’s development program.

Five years later, the chance to compete in the world’s premier motorsport series came in what is the grid’s worst-performing car. Lawson was thrown into the deep end in Zandvoort on Saturday and grabbed the opportunity with both racing gloves. He hasn’t allowed the AlphaTauri’s weaknesses to weigh him down.

Lawson’s trio of impressive performances has given Red Bull a headache as they discuss the junior team’s driver line-up for 2024. Lawson has beaten teammate Yuki Tsunoda in all three races so far, but the Japanese driver has made good progress since his debut in 2021. Tsunoda is also a favourite of engine supplier Honda and they’ll be keen to see the diminutive driver remain with AlphaTauri.

That leaves a difficult decision for the Red Bull brains trust to choose between Ricciardo and Lawson. The Australian might have a million-dollar smile, but at 34 years old he’s long in the tooth. Lawson represents the new generation of drivers in the sport. And with the impressive start he has made, Red Bull will be dumb to send him back to the Japanese Super Formula Championship.

Sean Parker

Sean Parker is a motorsport journalist and sports content creator at The South African. He has worked for the country's premier motoring publications, and is a Formula 1 contributor to Bet.co.za, the Bet Central podcast, and Vision View Sports radio.