Liam Lawson Bio
Liam Jared Lawson, born on 11 February 2002, is a New Zealand racing driver who competes in Formula One for Racing Bulls. Born in Hastings and raised in Pukekohe, Lawson began competitive kart racing at the age of six and quickly built a reputation as one of the most promising junior drivers from his country. He carries car number 30 and races with Honda power, and he is widely regarded as a leading talent in the Red Bull driver development pipeline.
Lawson first came to international attention by winning the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship as a privateer in 2016 and the Toyota Racing Series with M2 Competition in 2019. He went on to score race wins and podiums across Formula 3, Formula 2, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, and the Japanese Super Formula Championship, which prepared him for his Formula One debut in 2023.
Early Life and Background
Liam Jared Lawson was born on 11 February 2002 in Hastings, in the Hawke’s Bay region of New Zealand. He was raised in Pukekohe, a town known for Pukekohe Park Raceway, located in the Auckland Region of the North Island. Growing up near a racing circuit gave Lawson early exposure to motorsport, and he started karting locally at the age of six, beginning competitive kart racing in 2008.
Across New Zealand, Lawson competed in numerous karting championships, capturing two karting titles in 2014. He has continued to return to the Kartsport Auckland Go Kart Club on Rosebank Road in Avondale for the City of Sails race each Auckland Anniversary Weekend. His parents sold their house to fund his early racing career, reflecting the family commitment behind his rise through the junior ranks.
Lawson chose the number 30 as his personal driver number in Formula One because he had used it since the age of eight in honour of his karting mentor. That mentor, three-time New Zealand Grand Prix winner Ken Smith, played a formative role in shaping his race craft and professional approach.
Path to NASCAR
Lawson’s path has been built through international single-seater racing rather than stock car competition in North America. After karting, he moved into Formula First in New Zealand in 2015 and added the New Zealand Formula Ford title a year later, becoming the youngest Formula Ford champion in the world at that time. He then stepped into Formula 4, finishing as runner-up in both the 2017 Australian F4 Championship and the 2018 ADAC Formula 4 Championship.
In 2019, Lawson joined the Red Bull Junior Team and won the Toyota Racing Series with M2 Competition after a season-long fight with fellow New Zealander Marcus Armstrong. He added a runner-up finish in the 2019 Euroformula Open Championship before progressing to the FIA Formula 3 Championship with MP Motorsport in 2019 and Hitech Grand Prix in 2020, where he scored three race wins and finished fifth overall.
His move into the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2021 with Hitech Grand Prix delivered a maiden win on debut in Bahrain and a total of four wins and six other podiums with Carlin in 2022, placing him third in the championship. Alongside Formula 2, Lawson also raced in the 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for Red Bull AF Corse, and he later finished as runner-up in the 2023 Super Formula Championship with Team Mugen. These results set the stage for his promotion into Formula One.
Liam Lawson Career
Early Career (2015–2019)
Lawson made his single-seater debut in 2015 in the Formula First Manfeild Winter Series with Sabre Motorsport, taking a win and ten podiums to finish second overall. He then joined Sabre for the New Zealand Formula First championship, earning Rookie of the Year honours, before dominating the 2016 New Zealand F1600 Championship Series with fourteen wins from fifteen races to become the youngest Formula Ford champion in the world at that time.
In 2017, Lawson moved up to the Australian F4 championship with BRM, taking five wins to finish second in his rookie season. He stayed at Formula 4 level in 2018 with Van Amersfoort Racing in the ADAC Formula 4 championship, claiming three wins and three pole positions to finish runner-up behind Lirim Zendeli. In November 2018, he joined M2 Competition for the 2019 Toyota Racing Series, dominating the opening round at Highlands and securing the title at the New Zealand Grand Prix after a season-long fight with Ferrari junior Marcus Armstrong.
FIA Formula 3 Breakthrough (2019–2020)
Lawson joined MP Motorsport for the inaugural FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2019, racing alongside Richard Verschoor and Simo Laaksonen. After a difficult debut at Barcelona, he recovered to score his first points at Paul Ricard and earned his first series podium at Silverstone. A charging drive at Monza produced a second podium, and he finished the year as MP Motorsport’s top scorer with 41 points, ending eleventh in the standings.
For the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship, Lawson switched to Hitech Grand Prix, joining fellow Red Bull Junior Dennis Hauger and Max Fewtrell. He took his maiden series victory at the Red Bull Ring and added further wins at Silverstone and Mugello, the last a dominant lights-to-flag triumph. He finished the shortened 2020 season fifth overall with 143 points, three wins, and six podiums, confirming his status as a Red Bull Junior Team standout.
FIA Formula 2 Championship (2021–2022)
Lawson entered the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship with Hitech Grand Prix alongside Jüri Vips and immediately scored a maiden win in the opening sprint race at Bahrain. He added further podiums at Monaco and Jeddah but saw his Monaco victory stripped for a technical infringement, a decision he described as hard to swallow. He finished the season ninth overall with 103 points, one win, and three podiums.
In 2022, Lawson moved to Carlin to race alongside Logan Sargeant. He opened the year with a podium in Bahrain and took his first win of the season in the Jeddah sprint race after inheriting the lead. Wins at Paul Ricard, Spa-Francorchamps, and Abu Dhabi followed, along with podiums at Silverstone, Baku, and Monza. He ended the campaign third in the drivers’ championship with 149 points, four victories, and six other podiums.
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Breakthrough (2021)
Alongside his rookie Formula 2 campaign, Lawson contested the 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters driving a Red Bull-sponsored Ferrari for Red Bull AF Corse alongside Formula 1 reserve Alex Albon. On 19 June 2021, he won the opening race of the season at Monza to become the youngest-ever race winner in the series. He added a first pole position and two further victories at the Red Bull Ring, finishing on the podium four times in five races.
Heading into the Norisring finale, Lawson led the drivers’ championship by 19 points over Kelvin van der Linde. A first-lap collision with van der Linde damaged his car, and Mercedes team orders allowed Maximilian Götz to win the race and claim the title by three points. Lawson finished runner-up in the standings and publicly criticised van der Linde, while announcing he did not intend to continue in the series.
Super Formula Breakthrough (2023)
After leaving Formula 2, Lawson joined reigning champions Team Mugen for the 2023 Super Formula Championship, racing alongside two-time drivers’ champion Tomoki Nojiri. He became the first driver to win on his Japanese Top Formula debut since 1978 with a victory in the opening Fuji round, and followed it with wins at Autopolis and the second Fuji round.
Despite a mid-season dip that included a Suzuka multi-car pileup, Lawson took pole position for the second race of the Suzuka finale. He ultimately lost the title to Ritomo Miyata and finished as runner-up with three wins, a pole position, and 106.5 points. Lawson did not continue in Super Formula for 2024, choosing instead to focus on his Formula 1 reserve role.
AlphaTauri / Racing Bulls Era (2023–2024)
Lawson made his Formula One debut at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix for AlphaTauri, stepping in for Daniel Ricciardo after Ricciardo broke a hand in practice. Despite limited preparation, he finished thirteenth, and he kept the seat through the Italian Grand Prix and the Singapore Grand Prix, where he scored his maiden Formula One points with ninth place after a career-best tenth in qualifying.
In 2024, Lawson replaced Ricciardo full-time at the rebranded Racing Bulls from the United States Grand Prix onwards. Following his promotion, he was announced as a Red Bull Racing driver for 2025 alongside Max Verstappen, replacing Sergio Pérez. After the opening two rounds of 2025, Red Bull demoted him back to Racing Bulls, where he is contracted to remain until at least the end of the 2025 season.
Notable Races and Milestones
Lawson’s signature moments include his Formula 2 debut win in Bahrain in 2021, his record-breaking youngest-ever Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters victory at Monza later that year, and his landmark Singapore Grand Prix points finish in 2023. His 2025 promotion to Red Bull Racing and subsequent return to Racing Bulls after just two rounds marked one of the most dramatic mid-season moves in recent memory.
Liam Lawson Career Wins
Liam Lawson has built an unusually broad win portfolio across multiple international series. His victories span Formula Ford, Formula 4, Toyota Racing Series, Euroformula Open, FIA Formula 3, FIA Formula 2, Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Super Formula, and Formula One, reflecting a steady climb through Red Bull’s junior programme. Confirmed career win totals include four FIA Formula 2 wins, three Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters wins, three Super Formula wins, and three FIA Formula 3 wins across 2019 and 2020.
Single-Seater Series Highlights
Lawson’s earliest title came in the 2016 New Zealand F1600 Championship Series, where he won fourteen of fifteen races. He added the 2019 Toyota Racing Series title with M2 Competition and finished as runner-up in the 2019 Euroformula Open, where he also won the rookies’ championship. In the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship, three wins helped him to fifth overall with Hitech Grand Prix, and in 2022 he secured third in the FIA Formula 2 standings with Carlin.
Touring Car and Super Formula Highlights
In the 2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Lawson’s three race wins made him the youngest winner in series history, and he led the championship heading into the finale. In the 2023 Super Formula Championship with Team Mugen, his three wins and a pole position were enough for runner-up honours behind Ritomo Miyata. These results positioned him as Red Bull’s preferred choice for a 2024 Formula One race seat.
Liam Lawson Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Lawson was raised in Pukekohe, in the Auckland Region of New Zealand, where Pukekohe Park Raceway helped shape his earliest exposure to motorsport. His parents made significant financial sacrifices to support his career, including selling their house to help fund his progression through the junior ranks. His long-time karting mentor, three-time New Zealand Grand Prix winner Ken Smith, has been a guiding influence on his development.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 Formula One season began with Lawson promoted to Red Bull Racing to partner Max Verstappen, replacing Sergio Pérez. His Australian Grand Prix ended with a crash in changeable conditions after qualifying eighteenth, and he followed it with a last-place qualifying effort in China for both the sprint and the main race. Red Bull opened discussions about replacing him with Yuki Tsunoda after the opening two rounds.
After the second round, Red Bull demoted Lawson back to Racing Bulls for the remainder of the 2025 season, where he remains contracted. The early-season swap marked one of the most abrupt in-season team changes in recent memory and reset his campaign with the sister team. Lawson carries car number 30 and continues to race with Honda power.
