Liam Lawson to partner Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing in 2025
Thursday, 19 December 2024
Liam Lawson will replace Sergio Pérez at Red Bull Racing from the beginning of the 2025 Formula 1 season.
The 22-year-old Kiwi will partner four-time reigning world champion Max Verstappen.
Following an impressive six-race stint at the back end of 2024 with the junior Red Ball team, VCARB, Lawson has beaten out team-mate Yuki Tsunoda to the Red Bull seat.
“Welcome to Red Bull Racing.”
Five words that had been a long time coming for Liam Lawson.
“The classic one-liner,” as he put it.
Team boss Christian Horner finally delivered them in private recently and now the worst-kept secret in Formula 1 is public, as of Thursday night (NZ time).
The Kiwi 22-year-old will drive alongside reigning world champion Max Verstappen in 2025, having beaten out Yuki Tsunoda to make the step up from Red Bull’s junior team Visa Cash App RB (VCARB).
“It’s very exciting, I still can’t really believe it but I’m just excited,” Lawson told the team’s Talking Bull podcast. “I can’t stop smiling, all day. I’ve never really had a face that hurts just from smiling”.
Lawson said the news hadn’t sunk in yet and that despite being raring to go, the off-season would do him some good.
“It’s positive. I have time to really let it sink in, spend the time, do the prep and come back strong and ready.”
The first person Lawson called to share the happy news? His dad back in New Zealand.
“Obviously he’s been a massive influence on me as a person growing up and he was very emotional. I’ve never really seen him like that, which was quite cool,” he said.
“He’s a big person who influenced me as a kid, not that he raced, but letting me believe as a kid that I could do anything if I believe in it enough and I worked hard enough for it and I’ve carried that forward, all the way through.”
The Hastings native said his parents and siblings had given up a lot to enable his dream, including selling the family home so he could keep racing.
He told host Nicola Hume he first dreamed of being named as a Red Bull Racing driver while playing the F1 2010 video game.
“I was eight years old and I used to play as Mark Webber… so that I could race against Sebastian Vettell and try and beat him. And since then I’ve always dreamed of being a Red Bull Racing driver so it is crazy, honestly,” he grinned.
The removal of Red Bull’s underperforming incumbent, Sergio Pérez, who had a year left to run on his contract, had been confirmed less than 24 hours earlier, bringing weeks of speculation to an end.
Lawson has had 11 Grand Prix starts for VCARB over the past two seasons, with three ninth placings – in Singapore in 2023 and in Austin and Brazil in 2024 – his best finishes.
He has been with Red Bull for more than five years, after signing with their junior programme on his 17th birthday.
In a statement, Lawson said: “To be announced as an Oracle Red Bull Racing Driver is a lifelong dream for me, this is something I’ve wanted and worked towards since I was eight years old.
“It’s been an incredible journey so far. I want to say a massive thank you to the whole team at VCARB for their support, the last six races have played a huge part in my preparation for this next step.
“I also want to thank Christian, Helmut (Marko) and the whole Red Bull family for believing in me and giving me this opportunity.
“I am super excited to work alongside Max and learn from a world champion, I have no doubt I will learn from his expertise.”
“I can’t wait to get going!”
Horner said in a statement that Lawson’s Formula 1 performances to date “have demonstrated that he’s not only capable of delivering strong results, but that he’s also a real racer, not afraid to mix it with the best and come out on top.
“His arrival continues the team’s long history of promoting from within the Red Bull Junior programme and he follows in the footsteps of championship and race-winning drivers such as Sebastian Vettel and of course, Max Verstappen.”
'There's no doubt that racing alongside Max, a four-time champion and undoubtedly one of the greatest drivers ever seen in F1, is a daunting task, but I'm sure Liam can rise to that challenge and deliver some outstanding results for us next year.'
Pérez, who joined Red Bull at the beginning of the 2021 season, had a shocking end to the 2024 season, failing to record a podium finish since April.
Adjusting to a new car in the senior team will take time, but the move to Red Bull essentially means Lawson will be going from a mid-pack car to one capable of running up front with the biggest names in F1.
Partnering Verstappen at Red Bull has been described as the toughest job in F1 by Gary Anderson, a former technical director with Jordan and Jaguar. Still, Lawson shares a similar driving style to the world champion and also has a set-up preference similar to the Dutchman.
Lawson made his F1 debut in 2023 as an injury replacement for Australian veteran Daniel Ricciardo, starting in five Grands Prix with a best finish of ninth.
When he replaced the Australian driver for a six-race audition this year, Lawson, who hadn't had a competitive race in more than a year due to being stuck in a reserve driver role for the two energy drink company-backed teams, started with a hugely impressive ninth-place finish in the US Grand Prix.
Little went right in Mexico the following week when Lawson finished 16th, but he beat home Pérez who was 17th.
Then came another classy drive for ninth in the rain in Brazil.
Las Vegas was easily the most challenging Grand Prix for Lawson who came home in 16th and then came Qatar where the Kiwi finished 14th but with a different team strategy, both Lawson and Tsunoda should have been close to scoring points.
Following a shocking pitstop mistake from his VCARB team at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix earlier this month, where his left front wheel wasn't properly attached at the first stop – resulting in a second stop and a penalty – Lawson reeled off dozens of quick laps to claw back time before he was forced to retire the car due to a brake issue on the final lap.
A third points finish of the season looked inevitable had it not been for the issues that were beyond Lawson's control.
Lawson described the laps in between the failed pit stop and his last lap retirement as some of the best in his career and clearly, despite the disappointing result, the data was impressive to Red Bull.
After starting in karts at the age of six, Lawson has enjoyed a remarkable run of success on his way up the racing ladder to the pinnacle of motorsport, winning races in Super Formula in Japan, Formula 2, 3 and 4.
He first caught Red Bull's attention when he won the Toyota Racing Series, now known as the Formula Regional Oceania Championship, in New Zealand as a 16-year-old.
For now, Lawson is heading home for Christmas. He said he is looking forward to a “sick” Christmas breakfast and to catch up with his Kiwi fans.
“Thank you for all the support, obviously I get to go home in a week so looking forward to seeing everybody and the support has been incredible, honestly”.