Liam Lawson

Liam Lawson (born 11 February 2002) is a New Zealand racing driver, who competes in Formula One for Racing Bulls. Born in Hastings and raised in Pukekohe, Lawson began competitive kart racing aged seven. Lawson—who is mentored by three-time New Zealand Grand Prix winner Ken Smith—graduated to junior formulae in 2015, winning his first title in the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship as a privateer. He finished runner-up in the 2017 Australian F4, 2018 ADAC F4 and 2019 Euroformula Open championships, before winning the Toyota Racing Series in 2019 with M2. Lawson then progressed to FIA Formula 3 in 2020 before moving to FIA Formula 2 in 2021, where he placed third the following season with Carlin. He also competed in the 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for Red Bull AF Corse alongside Alex Albon, finishing runner-up to Maximilian Götz amidst a controversial finale. Lawson then competed in the 2023 Super Formula Championship, finishing runner-up to Ritomo Miyata with Mugen. A member of the Red Bull Junior Team since 2019, Lawson was a reserve driver for both Red Bull and AlphaTauri—later known as RB—from 2022 to 2024. Lawson made his Formula One debut at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, replacing an injured Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri for five Grands Prix in 2023, scoring his maiden points finish in Singapore. He replaced Ricciardo full-time at the re-branded RB in 2024 from the United States Grand Prix onwards. Lawson was promoted to a full-time drive with parent team Red Bull for his 2025 campaign, replacing Sergio Pérez to partner Max Verstappen. Lawson was set to contracted to remain at Red Bull until at least the end of the 2025 season, but following the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix, he was dropped back to Racing Bulls for the remainder of the season, with Yuki Tsunoda promoted to his position.