Liam Lawson is one of the most prodigious talents on the ladder to Formula 1, so here is everything you need to know about the Red Bull reserve driver and academy talent.
Success has often come his way since Lawson decided to pursue a career in motorsport as a kid. He has won titles galore over various go-karting levels and single-seater categories. The chance for Lawson to join the Red Bull young driver programme also came in February 2019.
Red Bull snapped Lawson up at 17 years old after he dominated the Toyota Racing Series. He took five wins in 15 races to beat Marcus Armstrong, who was in the Ferrari Driver Academy, for the title. Red Bull also named Lawson as their F1 reserve driver since the middle of 2022.
Liam Lawson joined the Red Bull driver academy in 2019
Lawson first got in a go-kart at six years old but as he did not come from a wealthy family, he started racing at seven without the best gear or engines. But the equipment taught Lawson how to carry more speed through corners and brake as late as possible to make up lap time.
Support by sponsors saw Lawson race with more competitive machinery but the young New Zealand driver development programme, the SpeedSport Scholarship, was his greatest aid. His dad, Jared, also taught Lawson how to drive a manual car in his sister’s VW Polo aged 12.
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Jared was Lawson’s sole driver coach as a kid but New Zealand motor racing icon Ken Smith also helped later on in his development. Smith’s advice even helped Lawson win his first title in single-seaters with the New Zealand F1600 series in 2016/17 with 14 wins in just 15 races.
Winning the Formula Ford championship also presented Lawson with the chance to move to race in Europe. He quit school after Year 11 and immediately fought for the ADAC Formula 4 Championship title in 2018. Lawson finished it second to champion Lirim Zendeli as a rookie.
Liam Lawson won his first go-karting title in 2012 and single-seater title in 2016/17
Lawson was not unfamiliar with success having won several karting championships. He first entered a championship in 2011 and took his first title in 2012 in the Cadet class of the CIK Trophy of New Zealand Challenge Cup. He further won two 100cc Junior titles during 2014.
Dominating the Toyota Racing Series in 2019 then saw Lawson sign his first multi-year driver contract with Red Bull on his 17th birthday. It also helped him move into Formula 3 with MP Motorsport, before Lawson joined Hitech in 2020 and then graduated to Formula 2 in 2021.
Lawson even relished the chance to split his season between F2 and the German touring car championship, DTM, in 2021. He drove a Red Bull-branded Ferrari and took the title fight to Maximilian Gotz but missed out by only three points after contact with Kelvin van der Linde.
A move to Carlin for the 2022 Formula 2 season also saw Lawson fight Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire for the title. He ultimately finished third before joining the Japanese Super Formula in 2023, in which Lawson finished second for the title by only eight points, as well.
The 2023 season was also huge for Lawson as Daniel Ricciardo breaking a bone in his hand in FP2 for the Dutch GP led to the Kiwi’s Formula 1 debut racing for AlphaTauri. Lawson also raced in the 2023 Italian GP, Singapore GP, Japanese GP and Qatar GP for the Faenza outfit.
Lawson even scored his first points in Formula 1 with P9 in the 2023 Singapore GP and was the lead Red Bull driver in qualifying. The Red Bull talent took P10 to dump Max Verstappen out in P11, Sergio Perez managed P13 and Yuki Tsunoda in the other AlphaTauri sealed P15.
But who really is Lawson and what has been said about the Red Bull academy driver with a future on the Formula 1 grid? F1 Oversteer has looked into everything you need to know…
Who is Liam Lawson?
Liam Lawson is a racing driver and is a member of the Red Bull driver programme. He is also the reserve driver for Red Bull Racing and Visa Cash App RB for the 2024 Formula 1 season.
How old is Liam Lawson? What is the Red Bull reserve driver’s age?
At the time of writing, Liam Lawson is 22 years old. He was born on February 11 in 2002 and celebrated his 17th birthday in 2019 by joining the Red Bull driver development programme.
Where was Liam Lawson born?
Liam Lawson was born in Hastings, an inland city of New Zealand in Hawke’s Bay. But he was raised in Pukekohe, a self-contained country town with a population of 27,000 and is often mistaken as a suburb of Auckland. It is famed for motorsport, horse racing and its beaches.
Meet Liam Lawson’s mum, Kristy, and dad, Jared
Liam Lawson comes from a big and close-knit family in New Zealand as one of Kristy Lawson and Jared Lawson’s five children. He is also the middle child between Jessica (nine years his elder), Holly (two years older), Marcos (two years younger) and Leah (three years younger).
His family are based in Pukekohe, South Auckland and mainly only see Lawson in the festive period. Holly and Jess were Irish dance national champions in their youth. Mum Kristy took Jess to her dance lessons and dad Jared, a manager of a freight company, took Liam karting.
It was also through his dad that Lawson developed his passion for motorsport as a kid. Liam and Jared watched Formula 1 and the Australian Supercars Championship together before a first taste of racing go-karts followed as soon as Liam was old enough to understand racing.
How tall is Liam Lawson? What is his height in feet?
Measuring in at 1.74 metres tall, Liam Lawson stands at a height of 5 ft 8 in feet.
How good is Liam Lawson? What’s been said about him?
Liam Lawson has proven that he can adapt to different categories and levels throughout his budding racing career. He has tasted success on debut in various categories and adapted rapidly to racing in Formula 1 in very tricky mixed weather conditions at the 2023 Dutch GP.
Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko also described Lawson as an ‘exceptional talent’ in March 2024. Lawson was resigned to a reserve role at Red Bull and Visa Cash App RB as Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo claimed race seats as RB changed name from AlphaTauri.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner also praised Lawson over how he adapted to tough conditions on his F1 debut. Horner said after the Dutch GP in August 2023, via Autosport: “The poor guy getting dropped in a car he’s never driven, wet, dry conditions, everything being thrown at him, I actually think he did pretty well.”
Eliminating Max Verstappen during qualifying for the 2023 Singapore GP and then scoring points at Marina Bay also saw Jolyon Palmer praise Lawson. The former Renault F1 driver found the Kiwi’s performance ‘remarkable’ given the physical nature of the Singapore GP.
Who is Liam Lawson’s girlfriend, Hannah St John?
Liam Lawson has been dating his girlfriend, Hannah St John, since October 2022. California native St John was born on February 12, 2001 and is a student who is currently majoring in biological and biomedical sciences at Arizona State University to be a Physician Assistant.
What is Liam Lawson’s net worth?
Liam Lawson has a net worth of $1.5m (£1.3m), as of August 2023, reports The Scotsman. Yet Lawson also admitted in a video for Hitech in June 2021: “Liam Lawson net worth? That would be a big fat zero. Literally, I haven’t earned any money in my whole career.”
Liam Lawson’s junior single-seater career stats
Liam Lawson has enjoyed an extensive junior single-seater career that has seen him race in New Zealand, Asia, Oceania, Europe and worldwide. He has even tasted success to varying degrees in each championship that Lawson has competed in as more than a wildcard entry.
2015 Formula First Manfeild Winter Series: 12 races, 1 win, 1 pole, 10 podiums
2015/16 New Zealand Formula First Championship: 24 races, 1 win, 0 poles, 3 podiums
2016/17 NZ F1600 Championship Series: 15 races, 14 wins, 5 poles, 15 podiums
2017 Australian Formula 4 Championship: 21 races, 5 wins, 1 pole, 12 podiums
2018 ADAC Formula 4 Championship: 20 races, 3 wins, 3 poles, 9 podiums
2018 F3 Asian Championship: 3 races, 3 wins, 2 poles, 3 podiums
2019 FIA Formula 3 Championship: 16 races, 0 wins, 0 poles, 2 podiums
2019 Euroformula Open Championship: 14 races, 4 wins, 2 poles, 7 podiums
2019 Toyota Racing Series: 15 races, 5 wins, 4 poles, 11 podiums
2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship: 18 races, 3 wins, 1 pole, 6 podiums
2020 Toyota Racing Series: 15 races, 5 wins, 4 poles, 10 podiums
2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship: 23 races, 1 win, 1 pole, 3 podiums
2021 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM): 16 races, 3 wins, 4 poles, 10 podiums
2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship: 28 races, 4 wins, 0 poles, 10 podiums
2023 Super Formula: 9 races, 3 wins, 1 pole, 4 podiums
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