Lawson thankful for "pressure" from Marko: "Never forget 6am phone calls"
F1 News
Liam Lawson says he is "thankful" for the "pressure" that he was put under as a Red Bull junior driver by Helmut Marko, helping him become the newest member of the Red Bull Racing family. The New Zealander was selected to replace the departing Sergio Perez, making the move from the sister Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team despite only taking part in 11 Grands Prix.
Lawson first became part of the Red Bull family when he became a member of the Austrian junior team in 2019 as a 16-year-old. Now, in 2024, he joins one of the biggest teams in the premier class of motorsport after working his way through all the junior formulas. It's a journey that has been quite long-winded, but one that he appreciates hugely, as he believes it has built him for success in the world of F1.
Pressure from the junior team "sculpted" Lawson into a Red Bull driver
Speaking to Sky Sports the day after the news came out that he had become a Red Bull driver, he was asked how he had become mentally resilient in F1, despite having so few Grands Prix to his name: "I think as a Red Bull junior in the first place, you're dealing with that pressure from a young age, and obviously, I'll never forget the phone calls from Helmut at 6am as a 16-year-old kid, and basically that pressure of being a junior almost comes with the job."
The pressure put on by Marko as a Red Bull advisor has been talked about before, and it has had clear success, with the Red Bull junior team continually breeding success with the many drivers that come from it. The 22-year-old New Zealander carried on, knowing that his time with Marko helped him become the driver that he is: "I'm very thankful for it because it's basically sculpted us as drivers to be ready for F1. I think if you don't have that and you had to step into F1, that would be extremely tough, and I couldn't imagine doing that now without what I've been through."
How will Lawson deal with the outside noise?
Lawson then continued by talking about social media and how he drowns out the outside noise: "The easiest thing is just not to read it, and I think that's what I've learned from being in my short time in F1. I think we spend all the years preparing to drive the cars, be physically fit enough to deal with the pressure, to deal with all of that, but one thing you probably don't prepare for is the outside, the people looking in and the feedback from the world.
"Luckily, I've had a taste of it so far, and honestly, the best thing to do is not read it. I know that it won't make everybody happy, but for me, it's an extremely exciting opportunity, and for me, I'm just focused on making the most of it," concluded the New Zealander.
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels!