Liam Lawson guarantees himself a permanent seat in F1

RB Formula One Team driver Liam Lawson from New Zealand, 2024.
Photo: PHOTO SPORTS

Opinion – New Zealand driver Liam Lawson’s performance on his return to Formula 1 should have secured his future in the sport.

Lawson finished ninth in the US Grand Prix in Texas on Monday to collect points for his RB team.

That alone is an impressive result, considering he started the race 19th on the grid after a grid penalty for his team.

But his performance during qualifying on Sunday probably made Red Bull director Christian Horner smile the most.

Lawson was third fastest in Q1 behind championship leader Max Verstappen and Ferreri’s Charles Leclerc.

That proved that he had lost nothing while racing and that he was fast.

“I just wanted to show them what I could do,” Lawson said after the race.

Lawson took part in his first F1 race since his short spell with the team last year.

The way the 22-year-old led his race in Austin was also impressive, making the most of the incidents in front of him while completing a number of impressive overtakes.

The RB team adopted a one-stop strategy for him and he managed his tires well to maintain his place in the top ten.

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Laurent Mekies, team principal of the RB F1 Team, and Liam Lawson, New Zealand driver, 2024.
Photo: PHOTO SPORTS

Lawson replaced the fired Daniel Ricciardo for the final six races of 2024, but his future is unclear as he doesn’t have a contract for 2025… yet!

Speaking at the US Grand Prix, racing commentator and former F1 driver Martin Brundell said Lawson had shown enough to be considered for the likely vacant seat in Red Bull’s top team next season.

Verstappen’s current teammate Sergio Perez has not shown enough this year to guarantee a return in 2025, despite being contracted until the end of 2026.

There is speculation that Perez will announce his retirement after this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix.

That opens up a seat in Red Bull’s top team and Lawson should be a leading contender to rise from and take over sister team RB.

Current teammate Yuki Tsonoda has done well this season, with 22 points and a twelfth place in the Drivers’ Championship. Although he is under contract with RB until 2025, he has yet to show his bosses that he can go to the next level.

Valterri Bottas, Franco Colapinto, Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo are all in a no-drive group for next year, while F2 prospect Isack Hadjar should also be taken into account.

However, Formula 1 is about moving forward and not going back, and it seems logical that Red Bull wants a youngster with ambition and aggression.

Lawson completed five races for the team (then called Alpha Tauri) in 2023 and finished ninth at the Singapore Grand Prix.

He then decided to become Red Bull’s reserve driver in 2024 and not participate in the Super Formula competition in Japan.

He has now repaid the trust placed in him and Red Bull must get the best out of this young talent and put him in their most competitive car.

“I know they (the team) have expectations of me, but at the end of the day I also expect myself to do my job. I want to stay in Formula 1 and have a full-time seat next year and these Races are my key to that.”

New Zealand motorsport analyst Bob McMurray, who has spent time in F1, believes that if Perez continues to struggle and Red Bull hopes to stay in the hunt for the Constructors’ Championship, Lawson could swap with Perez for the final few races of the season .

Things won’t always go his way, but Lawson has shown he can be a contender in F1.

RB Formula One Team driver Liam Lawson of New Zealand, 2024 US Grand Prix.
Photo: PHOTO SPORTS

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