Liam Lawson reveals lightswitch moment in Red Bull F1 dream

Liam Lawson has revealed the moment at which he realised he has the required skills and mettle to be a Formula 1 driver.

The Kiwi driver has secured a full-time race seat at Red Bull for F1 2025, and will be a likely contender for podiums, and even victories, in his first full season of Formula 1.

Liam Lawson: Zandvoort proved it to myself

Lawson has had two short runs of being an F1 driver in the past two seasons, with his initial debut coming when he got the call-up to replace the injured Daniel Ricciardo at the then-AlphaTauri at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix.

The summons 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 debut race in Formula 1.

But Lawson, who had just returned from a Super Formula round at Motegi, handled himself well to deliver a solid result as he raced to 13th at the first time of asking – including an enjoyable scrap with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who was struggling with floor damage.

Getting the opportunity to replace Ricciardo for five races, Lawson produced a stellar race in Singapore to take ninth place in his third race – one of the most physically and mentally exhausting events on the calendar.

Lawson went back to life on the sidelines after Ricciardo’s return, and had to sit out most of the 2024 season as well as the VCARB squad stuck with its driver line-up. But, with Ricciardo continuing to struggle, Lawson eventually got his opportunity as Red Bull opted to replace Ricciardo outright after the Singapore Grand Prix.

Just weeks later, Lawson was confirmed as stepping up to the Red Bull Racing team as Max Verstappen’s teammate – a rapid ascension and one that will be a huge test for the unproven rookie.

But fazed by the challenge Lawson is not. Speaking in an exclusive interview with PlanetF1.com, Lawson was asked about his confidence levels after just reaching double digits figures in terms of races competed in, and whether he had the “lightswitch moment” of realising he has the skills to be a Formula 1 driver.

After all, no matter how much sim work a driver does, or how competitive one may be in another leading series like Super Formula, there is a huge different between testing or driving an F1 car against the challenge of being a full-on top-level F1 racing driver.

“Yeah. Potentially. But if anything, it’s before you drive,” he said.

“It’s not something that 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, straight away in the race, when you’re fighting cars, it’s something that you know, mentally as a driver, we do all the prep and everything like that before a session, but, the second that the lights go out, you fall into a mindset where it’s the same mindset whether you’re competing in Formula 1 or if I’m competing in a go-kart race in New Zealand.

“It’s the same mindset that you have when you’re in a race. I would say that hasn’t changed from when I was a kid, I always felt like I was capable of being a Formula 1 driver.”

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A common facet of Lawson’s personality that is pointed out by Red Bull personnel is the unshakeable self-confidence the Kiwi exudes – a similar trait shared with his new teammate Verstappen.

Given he is still in the process of building his track record in F1, he explained where he believes this self-confidence has come from.

“I think it’s something that you’re either born with or you’re not, maybe,” he replied.

“I mean, I feel fortunate that I was born with it, and I’ve always had that belief.

“I think whether you’re fighting in the midfield or at the front of the field, to be perfectly honest, it’s actually no different… the performance, as a driver, we try to achieve in a race weekend is the best possible performance that we can do.

“In a qualifying session, it’s the best possible lap that 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 the best when you finish the weekend and you feel like you’ve done the best job that you can, then your result is going to be what it’s going to be.

“If we look at Qatar, for example, I feel like, in qualifying there, honestly, especially in the Sprint Qualifying, that was the best possible job I feel like 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, it changes.

“So I think in a top car, the approach is the same. You’re trying to do and execute the best job you can. The only thing that changes is the spot that you’re in.”

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