Liam Lawson is a New Zealander and a driver in Super Formula. The driver only recently joined the Formula 1 AlphaTauri team to substitute for Daniel Ricciardo. However, the Kiwi started his career long back when he was only seven. The driver started his career in karting and slowly made his way to the Red Bull junior program. The driver started his motor racing career, however, when he was only 13 years old. Lawson first joined Lower Formulae and soon moved to the Toyota Racing series.
It was after he got into the Formula 3 and Formula 2 series that he joined the Red Bull racing junior program. He drove a Red Bull car for the very first time alongside Alex Albon for the Red Bull AF Corse at Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. He has won the Toyota Racing series and has come very close to winning the title in DTM. The driver has also shared a team with Yuki Tsunoda in Formula 3 as they both raced with MP Motorsports. Nonetheless, now he drives in the Super Formula Championship 2023.
Liam Lawson expecting to finish #SUPERFORMULA season:
“I think [I will finish the Super Formula season] at this stage, yeah. I think there’s plenty of time before our last round for Daniel to come back. Right now it’s race by race here, but I should have enough time. I never
— The F1 Journal (@thef1journal_) September 16, 2023
Apart from the racing series, Lawson has made his way to Formula 1. The Kiwi was a reserve driver for AlphaTauri. After Daniel Ricciardo had a crash in Zandvoort and broke his wrist, he decided to step in. Ever since the Zandvoort race, Lawson has been driving for AlphaTauri. The driver is currently enjoying his debut season of Formula 1. He also recorded his personal best at the Marina Bay Grand Prix with P9. The driver has recorded a better result in just his third race compared to all the drivers AlphaTauri has had this season.
Liam Lawson to not have a seat in 2024
Although the Kiwi has shown great results so far, he may not be qualified to get a seat yet. After recent updates reported that Lawson would be “auditioning” for the AlphaTauri seat, it has been denied. The Kiwi showed his best performance at the hottest race of the season.
He also took Max Verstappen out of Q2 and went on to get a P10 position for the race. However, his great performance has not been rewarded so far. Although he brought in more points in a single race and a better result than their permanent drivers, it seems he will have no seat in F1.
After his incredible performance, fans wished that Lawson would get a place in AlphaTauri next season. However, it seems everything went in vain. It was only recently confirmed that he will be staying as the reserve driver for the team in 2024 while Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda will be driving for AlphaTauri. It seems the driver will have to wait another year until he can audition for the seat.
🚨 | Liam Lawson is expected to stay on the SIDELINES in 2024.
Red Bull will reportedly keep Lawson as an option for the 2025 season.
[@jeppe_olesen] pic.twitter.com/SucgnKYP7t
— formularacers (@formularacers_) September 19, 2023
Nonetheless, he still has a few more races to drive for the team. Until then Ricciardo will be sitting out. Liam Lawson might still have a chance at proving that he deserves a seat in Formula 1. And while he takes the few races he has as a chance to turn things around, Ricciardo will be returning to the races once his hand has recovered completely.