After spending twelve months as a “reserve” in the Red Bull garage, Liam Lawson is prepared to secure a significant role in Formula 1, this time as a full-time driver.
The New Zealander stunned everyone in the five races he competed in with AlphaTauri last year, especially with his Q3 qualification in Singapore, where he knocked out Max Verstappen, causing quite a stir at the time.
However, unlike last year when he was thrown into the action with no warning after Daniel Ricciardo’s injury, Liam Lawson will hit the track this time with extensive simulator work and several tests under his belt, both with Red Bull and VCARB.
“It’s still a big step,” the Hastings native admitted during an interview with New Zealand radio station Newstalk ZB.
“It’s going to be tough to jump right in. I’ve never even raced in Austin before. So, even though I’ve done a lot of simulator work, it will be a real challenge. I’d say I’m more prepared this year, definitely more than last year. At the same time, we’re already late in the season, and as I’ve said, these drivers have raced three-quarters of the championship. Obviously, I’ve trained like crazy all year to try and be ready for something like this, but even with the few tests I’ve done this year, there’s nothing quite like being race-fit.”
With the return of the sprint format in Texas, Liam Lawson will have just 60 minutes to get back into the rhythm before heading straight into qualifying: “It’s going to be challenging, but at least I’ve driven on that track. The same goes for Abu Dhabi. I raced in F1 there and had a free practice session with Red Bull.”
“The tough part about Austin is that it’s a Sprint weekend, so there will be one practice session, and then straight into Sprint qualifying. Obviously, I’ll have to learn as much as I can in that single session and then move on to qualifying.”
Aware that he’s competing with Yuki Tsunoda for a potential Red Bull seat in 2025, Liam Lawson intends to focus solely on the track and ignore the rumors: “I’m doing all of this to be ready to drive the car as fast as possible and trying to focus only on that, but the reality is that there’s a lot of attention off the track.” – he pointed out.
“Even in the last few hours, I’ve tried not to think about it, but my phone has been blowing up. It’s something I’ll have to get used to. Obviously, I have another mountain to climb for the upcoming season, and I hope to race next year as well. I hope this is the beginning of my F1 career, but I just want to thank everyone because I really appreciate it.”
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