Christian Horner, the Red Bull team principal, made the pivotal decision in 2025 to elevate Liam Lawson to a premier Red Bull seat, a move that was not without its fair share of private talks and assurances.
Lawson, reflecting on his journey, shared that Horner had given him his word that his stint on the Formula 1 sidelines wouldn’t be indefinite. This assurance came after Lawson was relegated to his reserve role for the 2024 season following his impressive five-race stand-in for Daniel Ricciardo during the latter’s recovery from a hand fracture in 2023.
However, once Ricciardo was back behind the wheel and his full-season commitment with VCARB for 2024 was confirmed, Lawson found himself in the position of a standby for both Red Bull teams. Yet, the young driver remained hopeful, recalling a 2023 conversation with Horner during which he was assured of a future seat.
Lawson’s return to the Formula 1 grid did materialize towards the end of the 2024 season, ironically at Ricciardo’s expense. The charming part of this episode was Ricciardo being the only driver to extend his congratulations to Lawson on his subsequent promotion to Red Bull for the 2025 campaign. Lawson appreciated this gesture, stating that it “speaks volumes about him as a person.”
In a candid chat with the Australian edition of GQ, Lawson recollected, “When I stepped out in 2023, I had a conversation with Christian, where I was essentially told that I wouldn’t be signed because Daniel was going to return. But he also assured me that this wouldn’t be a permanent situation and that I would have a seat. His plan was to have me back in the car within the next 12 months.”
With 11 race starts to his name, Lawson is set to kickstart a season as a Formula 1 driver for the first time. The season’s commencement will be at Albert Park in Australia, the closest to a ‘home’ event for the New Zealander, despite his admission of it being a circuit he has never competed in before.
When probed about his feelings entering the new year, Lawson spoke to media outlets including PlanetF1.com, “I think I feel like a newbie in Melbourne, and at tracks I haven’t raced for sure, but in Formula 1, that’s not the case.” He added, “I’ve been in the paddock long enough and have participated in enough races to understand how the sport operates.”
This season’s start will feel relatively new, he admits, owing to the fresh tracks and the commencement of a new season. However, Lawson insists he doesn’t feel like a rookie in Formula 1. “It’s a circuit I haven’t driven at, so it’s going to be a challenging weekend to learn and adapt as quickly as possible, but that’s really how most of my races in F1 have been so far anyway. So yes, it’s exciting.”
