Liam Lawson determined to take ‘big opportunity’ ahead of him with Red Bull promotion

Liam Lawson has described the “big opportunity” to race alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull as “very, very exciting”, with the New Zealander looking to cement his place in the sport through 2025.

Lawson makes the step up to Red Bull – in place of the axed Sergio Perez – after just 11 mid-season Grand Prix outings with their sister team (now called Racing Bulls) across the 2023 and 2024 campaigns.

He is the latest junior driver to partner now four-time World Champion Verstappen, with Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon previously managing just half a season and a season-and-a-half on the other side of the garage before being replaced.

BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 27: Liam Lawson of New Zealand driving the (30) Oracle Red Bull Racing — Lawson got to grips with Red Bull’s new car, the RB21, during pre-season testing in Bahrain

Lawson, though, is focused on himself and continuing the upward trajectory that earned him a spot at Red Bull in the first place, explaining after pre-season testing in Bahrain that he was in a “positive place” with their RB21 challenger.

Speaking a week earlier at the F1 75 Live event, the 23-year-old shared some wider feelings about his impending full-time debut, commenting: “It’s obviously a big opportunity for me, and one that I’m very excited for.

“It’s the first time that I’ve had a proper pre-season, so it’s been quite strange to have so much time. It feels like honestly, now, I’m ready to go racing.

“To work with this team has been something that I’ve done for quite a few years as test and reserve, so it doesn’t exactly feel new, the relationships are all there. But just to know that obviously I’ll be racing [now] is very, very exciting.”

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Lawson was also asked if he considers himself to be an F1 rookie ahead of his fully-fledged debut, having so far been limited to those part-time seasons, practice outings and test sessions.

“I feel like a rookie in Melbourne and those tracks… the tracks I haven’t done, for sure,” he added, pointing to this weekend’s season opener. “But in F1? No. I’ve been in the paddock long enough, I’ve obviously done enough races, to know how the sport works and to understand it.

“Starting the season, it’s going to feel quite new, just because of the tracks we’re going to and because it’s the start of a season, but no, in F1 I don’t feel like a rookie.”

Nonetheless, Lawson is regarded as one of six rookies on the 2025 grid, alongside Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, Alpine’s Jack Doohan, Haas’ Oliver Bearman, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto.