Liam Lawson has revealed the moment he realized he had the skills and ability to become a Formula 1 driver.
The Kiwi driver has secured a full-time race seat at Red Bull for F1 2025 and is likely to be a contender for podiums and even wins in his first full season of Formula 1.
Liam Lawson: Zandvoort proved that to me
Lawson has had two short runs as an F1 driver in the last two seasons, with his first debut coming when he was called upon to replace the injured Daniel Ricciardo at the then-AlphaTauri at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix.
The call came at extremely short notice, with Lawson replacing Ricciardo after Friday’s action, and tricky weather conditions meant the Kiwi was up against it for his Formula 1 debut race.
But Lawson, who had just returned from a Super Formula round at Motegi, did well to deliver a solid result as he raced to 13th at the first time of asking – including a nice scrap with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who was battling floor damage.
Given the opportunity to replace Ricciardo for five races, Lawson produced a superb run in Singapore to take ninth in his third race – one of the most physically and mentally grueling events on the calendar.
Lawson went back to life on the sidelines following Ricciardo’s return, sitting out most of the 2024 season while the VCARB squad stuck with its driver line-up. But with Ricciardo continuing to struggle, Lawson eventually got his opportunity when Red Bull opted to replace Ricciardo straight after the Singapore Grand Prix.
Just a few weeks later, Lawson was confirmed as stepping up to the Red Bull Racing team as Max Verstappen’s team-mate – a rapid ascent and one that will be a huge test for the unproven rookie.
But Lawson is not fazed by the challenge. In an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com, Lawson was asked about his confidence levels after reaching double figures in race form, and whether he had the “lightswitch moment” to realize he has the skills to be a Formula 1 driver.
After all, no matter how much swimming work a driver does, or how competitive one can be in another leading series like Super Formula, there is a huge difference between testing or driving an F1 car versus the challenge of being top notch – F1 level racing driver.
“Yes. Potentially. But if anything, it’s before you drive,” he said.
“Nothing happens in the car.
“I think for me it would have been at Zandvoort when I first drove and competed in a Grand Prix.
“I would say it was, right in the race, when you’re fighting against cars, it’s something that you know, mentally as a driver we do all the preparations and everything like that before a session, but the second the lights go out, you fall into a mindset where it’s the same mindset whether you’re racing Formula 1 or I’m racing a go-kart in New Zealand.
“It’s the same mindset you have when you’re in a race. I’d say it hasn’t changed from when I was little, I always felt I could be a Formula 1 driver.”
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A common aspect of Lawson’s personality noted by Red Bull staff is the unwavering confidence the Kiwi exudes – a similar trait shared with his new team-mate Verstappen.
Considering he is still in the process of building his track record in F1, he explained where he believes this confidence has come from.
“I think it’s something you’re either born with or you’re not, maybe,” he replied.
“I mean, I feel lucky that I was born with that, and I’ve always had that belief.
“I think whether you’re fighting in the middle of the field or at the front of the field, to be completely honest, it’s actually no different… the performance, as drivers, we’re trying to achieve over a race weekend is the best possible performance that we can do.
“In a qualifying session, it’s the best possible lap you can do. Whether you’re in a top team or a midfield team, you can only put that car so far up the grid.
“But as long as you finish that lap and you feel like you’ve done your best when you finish the weekend and you feel like you’ve done the best job you can, then your result is going to be what it’s going to be.
“If we look at Qatar, for example, I feel that when I qualified there, honestly, especially in the sprint qualifying, it was the best possible job I feel I could have done.
“But then we look at a session in Brazil where it’s wet and now we’re in the top five and things like that change.
“So I think in a top car the approach is the same. You try to do and do the best job you can. The only thing that changes is where you are.”
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