Liam Lawson, a New Zealand racing driver born on February 11, 2002, has been affiliated with Red Bull Racing since 2019 as a member of their Junior Team. He made his Formula One debut in 2023 with AlphaTauri, Red Bull’s sister team, replacing an injured Daniel Ricciardo for five Grands Prix and scoring his first points in Singapore. In late 2024, Lawson stepped in for Ricciardo at Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s rebranded team, for the remainder of the season.
For the 2025 season, Lawson was promoted to a full-time role at Red Bull Racing, partnering Max Verstappen. However, after just two races, where Lawson faced challenges including a crash in Australia and a 15th-place finish in China, Red Bull announced a driver change. Yuki Tsunoda replaced Lawson starting from the Japanese Grand Prix, with Lawson returning to Racing Bulls.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko addressed the decision, stating that the team was “not dropping Lawson” but rather aiming to protect and develop his career by returning him to a more familiar environment.
Looking ahead, former F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve suggested that Lawson could draw inspiration from the career paths of Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon, both of whom faced setbacks before returning to F1 with renewed success.