Lawson looking forward to show what he is capable of: 'This is a big opportunity for me'

11:00, 01 Apr

Updated: 14:22, 01 Apr

byKada Sarkozi

Liam Lawson will once again compete for Racing Bulls next weekend. The New Zealander sees the Japanese Grand Prix as a great opportunity to show what he is capable of.

Lawson looks ahead to Japan GP after Red Bull exit

"I’m really looking forward to be racing in Japan this weekend. Suzuka is one of my favourite tracks on the calendar," Lawson began ahead of his first weekend back with the Faenza-based team.

"It’s cool to drive and very high speed, which makes it great fun in a Formula One car. This weekend is a big opportunity for me as I rejoin Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, and I’m very excited to work with this team again. As always, I’ll be giving it everything I have."

Lawson's new teammate, Isack Hadjar is also looking forward to the driving for the first time in Suzuka in a Formula 1 car.

"I’m really excited to be in Japan, which is probably my favourite country to visit on the calendar. I have already driven at Suzuka, and even if it was a while ago, it is still my favourite track along with Monaco. I think driving here for the first time in a Formula One car, it is going to feel ridiculously fast. I am keen to see what we can achieve as a team because, in the first two race weekends we seemed to have a lot of pace, so the plan is to replicate that again and fight for more points."

Race Director Alan Permane also addressed the biggest challenges his team are set to face this weekend. "Suzuka is one of the ultimate challenges for car, driver and tyres. It has almost every type of corner that we encounter over a season, all in one lap. From very high speed, to long sweeping medium speed, fast changes of direction, heavy braking and a tight chicane with kerbs to ride," he explains.

"Pirelli will bring the hardest tyres in their 2025 range for this weekend and these work well on this high energy track. Around 50% of the track has been resurfaced since we last visited and the impact of this on grip and tyre behaviour will be one of the items on our list to test during Friday running. The VCARB 02 has worked well at the previous two tracks, but the midfield is tight, and we will need to work hard to deliver the best qualifying result and even harder to convert this on Sunday."

He also reflected on Lawson's return. "We welcome Liam back to the team at a track he knows well from his season in Super Formula in 2023 and look forward to him and Isack working together to extract the maximum performance from the car here, and for the rest of the season," he concluded.

This article was written in collaboration with Nicole Mulder