Red Bull is arguably the strongest team in F1 right now, and every young driver would love to be a part of the setup. Being on the same team as Max Verstappen is a daunting task, but according to F1 fans, a new starlet is ready for the challenge.
Liam Lawson has been a part of the Red Bull Junior team for a long time now, and his blistering start to the 2023 season has not gone unnoticed. Lawson took part in Formula 2 in 2021 and 2022, finishing ninth and third in the championship respectively.
Liam Lawson wins at Fuji! 🏆 Rookie driver takes victory in the first Super Formula race of his career 👏
Watch here 👉 https://t.co/Y0KZ9D8bMw#SF #SuperFormula #Motorsport #Fuji pic.twitter.com/3h48WXzq1U
— Motorsport.tv (@MotorsportTV_UK) April 8, 2023
In 2023, however, he didn’t continue with the series and moved to Japan to take part in the Super Formula series. As Red Bull chief Helmut Marko admitted, they feel that developing Lawson in Super Formula would present him with conditions closer to F1.
Liam Lawson I wasn’t familiar with your game https://t.co/Z6MSgC4tY6
— LFC_Dimitar_24 🇧🇬 #FSGOUT (@LFCDimitar24) April 24, 2023
At the second round of the Super Formula season in Suzuka, a video of Lawson performing a stunning overtake on his opponent around a tight corner sent F1 fans into a frenzy. Plenty of them even started calling for the 21-year-old to be promoted to AlphaTauri next season.
Fans go crazy over Liam Lawson’s overtake
Currently, Max Verstappen is the most dominant driver and is behind the wheels of the strongest car. While his teammate Sergio Perez is contracted to Red Bull till 2024, he has struggled to match Verstappen in terms of performance.
Meanwhile, at Red Bull’s sister team, their driver pairing of Yuki Tsunoda and Nyck de Vries hasn’t excited many fans till now. De Vries is currently in his rookie season and hasn’t quite settled into F1 as comfortably as many predicted him to.
Liam Lawson is cooking for that Redbull seat earlier than expected and I don’t see Nyck , Yuki , Perez stand a chance in taking that opportunity away from him . pic.twitter.com/xo1Y12v15B
— ahmed baokbah 🇸🇦🏎✈️ (@ahmed_baokbah) April 24, 2023
Looking at how much time and effort Red Bull and Marko are spending behind Lawson’s development, fans are wondering whether the Milton Keynes-based outfit is eying him as a potential replacement in F1.
Will Lawson join Max Verstappen at Red Bull?
Verstappen signed a deal in 2022 that will keep him at Red Bull till the 2028 season. On top of that, his achievements and form suggest that there’s no way Red Bull would even consider replacing him. Team principal Christian Horner too, has stated on multiple occasions that Sergio Perez won’t be removed.
This is exactly what I said would happen BTW Liam Lawson is the most overprotected driver in all of feeder series he’s ass for 3 years gets no slander has 1 alright start to a season and gets red bull and better than LN shouts wtf overhyped as per https://t.co/lATUcKR0Dp
— Kyle 🏴 TP21 COYG official (@formulakyle04) April 24, 2023
At AlphaTauri on the other hand, Tsunoda is having a stellar season whereas De Vries is still finding his feet in F1. The latter comes to F1 with huge success in other racing ventures, so it is presumable that Marko will give him time to settle.
Nyck & Yuki I can see, but Perez..?
Perez does perfect for RB, no need to fix whats not broken.
Maybe when Perez retires, sure, but I think Lawson has enough competition for that seat. By then maybe a new AT driver could step up, or a Norris or whoever skilled could be available— Two Seconds Ted (@2secondsTed) April 24, 2023
As many fans on Twitter have pointed out, Lawson’s great start to life in Super Formula should not blown out of proportion, as it is unlikely that the Hastings-born driver will get the big jump in the near future.
