F1 News

Lawson confirms: 'That's when my move to Red Bull Racing became clear'
For some time before Liam Lawson was announced at Red Bull Racing, there were rumours about a possible seat for the New Zealander at the Austrian team. But when did he realise he would become Red Bull's driver and replace a departing Sergio Perez? He answered that question in conversation with GPblog and others.
Lawson on when he knew he was joining Red Bull
The 23-year-old will make his full F1 debut in 2025, with only 11 Grands Prix to his name as a result of filling in for Racing Bulls in 2023 and 2024. He will now have one of the toughest jobs in the whole of the sport: being the teammate of Max Verstappen.
But even with a lack of Grand Prix experience, Lawson knew that there was always the potential to join Red Bull in the future: "To be honest, whenever you're driving in Formula 1, especially when you're at VCARB, one of the primary reasons, especially for me coming in, is that a junior or a younger driver is in there is to be evaluated and to basically try and prove themselves to the level to go up to Red Bull. So when I got in Austin, I knew that, obviously, I was there to be evaluated, especially coming in at the end of a season like that."
Lawson also realised there were more reasons to put him in the car: "SSo it wasn't so much whether I was going to have an opportunity at Red Bull or VCARB or wherever. It was more about just trying to do enough and prove myself to stay in Formula 1.
"I think over those races it just, I don't know exactly when, but it just became more clear over time that there was an opportunity presenting itself. But obviously, it was race by race and it completely depended on how Sergio was doing and how I was doing and also the guys around me that they were also going to look at. So yeah, it just became more clear over the races until the end," concluded the New Zealander.
In the end, Red Bull chose Lawson and not Yuki Tsunoda as Sergio Perez's replacement. On Wednesday morning, the New Zealander was the first to drive on day 1 of pre-season testing. On Wednesday afternoon, Max Verstappen will be in action. The entire test can be followed live on GPblog.
This article was created in collaboration with Cas van de Kleut
Want more Formula 1? Then follow GPblog on our various social media channels!