Liam Lawson is a New Zealand racing driver who competes in Formula 1 for Racing Bulls, carrying car number 30. Born in Hastings on 11 February 2002 and raised in Pukekohe in the Auckland region, he is one of the most decorated graduates of the Red Bull Junior Team, having won titles or won on debut in nearly every category he contested on the way up. ¹²

His rise was bankrolled by family sacrifice: his parents sold their house to fund his racing, and his number 30 honours a karting mentor. By his own description he is a single-minded competitor — "I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to win" — a mentality that has defined both his rapid ascent and the bruising setbacks along the way. ¹²

“In 2023 he was runner-up in Japan's Super Formula with Team Mugen, winning on his series debut at Fuji.”

Early life and karting

Lawson began karting in 2008 aged six and progressed quickly through New Zealand's junior ranks, winning two karting titles in 2014. In 2016–17 he dominated the New Zealand Formula Ford (F1600) Championship, winning 14 of 15 races to become one of the youngest Formula Ford champions in the world at that time. ¹

Junior single-seaters

He finished runner-up in the 2017 Australian Formula 4 series with Team BRM, taking five wins, and was runner-up again in the 2018 ADAC Formula 4 championship with Van Amersfoort. His breakout year came in 2019, when he won the Toyota Racing Series with M2 Competition — sealing the title at the New Zealand Grand Prix after a season-long fight with Ferrari junior Marcus Armstrong — and finished runner-up in Euroformula Open with Motopark, also taking the rookie title. He joined the Red Bull Junior Team in February 2019. ¹

Lawson then climbed the FIA ladder, finishing fifth in FIA Formula 3 in 2020 with three wins. In a remarkable parallel 2021 he finished runner-up in the DTM with Red Bull AF Corse, becoming the youngest race winner in DTM history on his debut at Monza, while also contesting FIA Formula 2. He took a strong third place in the 2022 FIA Formula 2 championship with Carlin, scoring four wins and ten podiums. In 2023 he was runner-up in Japan's Super Formula with Team Mugen, winning on his series debut at Fuji. ¹

Formula 1 debut

Lawson made his F1 debut at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, called up at short notice to replace the injured Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri. Across five races he impressed, scoring his first points with ninth in Singapore after out-qualifying Max Verstappen in a chaotic session. He finished 2023 20th in the standings with two points. ¹²

He returned to the team — by then renamed Racing Bulls / RB — for the closing rounds of 2024, again replacing Ricciardo from the United States Grand Prix onward, where he finished ninth on his return. A career-best qualifying fifth in the wet at São Paulo underlined his raw speed and did enough to earn a major promotion. ¹

The Red Bull promotion and demotion

For 2025 Red Bull elevated Lawson to the senior team alongside Max Verstappen, replacing Sergio Pérez. It went badly: he crashed out in Australia and started last in both the sprint and main race in China, and was demoted back to Racing Bulls after just two rounds, replaced by Yuki Tsunoda from the Japanese Grand Prix. Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko later admitted the team had "made a mistake" in promoting Lawson after only around a dozen Grands Prix, saying he had "lost confidence." ¹³

Recovery and best results

Back at Racing Bulls, Lawson faced a fresh challenge in highly rated rookie team-mate Isack Hadjar, who out-qualified him 8-1 across his first nine sessions back. He steadily rebuilt. He qualified third in damp conditions and finished fifth at the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix — his career-best result — holding off faster cars with what Team Principal Alan Permane praised as "20 perfect laps" to the flag. He added a sixth in Austria and several more points finishes, and from the summer break onward scored 26 points, among the best returns on the grid over that stretch, narrowing his qualifying deficit to Hadjar to hundredths of a second. He ended the season 14th in the championship with 38 points. Through the end of 2025 he had no wins, podiums or pole positions. ¹³

2026 season and current form

Retained for 2026 under the sport's new technical regulations, Lawson leads a young Racing Bulls line-up alongside rookie Arvid Lindblad. He has been the team's more consistent scorer in the opening rounds, taking seventh in both the sprint and main race in China, further points in Canada, and a strong run at Monaco. He sits inside the top ten of the standings at the time of writing, with a season-best fifth on the road in Monaco before a penalty appeal. ³

Driving style and character

Lawson is a fast, combative racer who thrives in changeable conditions and wheel-to-wheel battles. His Red Bull demotion appears to have reshaped his outlook: he has spoken of realising "the goal has always been winning and getting to the top, and it doesn't need to be specific to where that is" — a more pragmatic mindset after the senior-team chapter. He is no longer pushing for an immediate Red Bull return, prioritising consistent performance at Racing Bulls instead. ³

Bottom line

Lawson is a quick, resilient driver whose career has been defined by a too-early shot at the top team and a determined response to losing it. At Racing Bulls he is the experienced anchor of an unusually youthful pairing, still chasing a maiden podium under the new rules. ¹³