“I Owe Them a Lot”: Liam Lawson Reflects on Family’s Sacrifices as Red Bull Languishes Him on Bench

Liam Lawson made a compelling case for himself in F1, last year. The young New Zealander debuted in F1, standing in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo for five races. Despite this, Red Bull have seemingly shut the door on the 22-year-old with respect to a full-time F1 seat anytime soon. Amid this snub, Lawson revealed the sacrifices his family made to ensure he stood a chance to make it into Formula 1.

Talking about the sacrifices his family had to make funding his early career in go-karts, Lawson told Mind Set Win, “I definitely feel like I owe them a lot. My parents especially, but my whole family as well [like] my siblings.”

As Lawson explained, the costs of sustaining his go-karting career meant his family had to make some tough decisions. One such call was made about the fledgling Irish dancing careers of his sisters. Lawson’s sisters were national level dancers who often competed internationally as well. But, they had to give up on that dream as the family deemed it too expensive.

During his conversation, Lawson also revealed that his parents had to actually sell their own house. The costs of go-karting were exceptionally steep and the Lawson household decided to take the gamble to ensure Liam got the best opportunity available to show his talent to the world.

During his rookie cameo last year, the 22-year-old impressed many in the paddock. His moment in the sun came at the 2023 Singapore GP where he not only out-qualified Max Verstappen but also drove a stellar race to earn his maiden F1 championship points. This makes him a strong favorite to at least land a Visa Cash App RB (V-CARB) seat next season.

Liam Lawson could break through at V-CARB in 2025

The way Daniel Ricciardo’s season has started, it looks more likely by the day that a vacancy is about to open up at V-CARB for next year. The #3 driver has struggled to get to grips with their 2024 challenger, and it would take a miracle for him to salvage his season from here onwards.

Dissatisfaction with the Honey Badger’s results were made public by Red Bull advisor, Helmut Marko after a string of bad results. The Austrian explained, “The expectation was that he [Ricciardo] had to be clearly faster than Yuki if he wanted to have any hope of getting a seat at Red Bull. That hasn’t been the case so far,” as quoted by PlanetF1.

On the flip side, Lawson’s performances as a stand-in for Ricciardo last year caught the eye of many paddock insiders. Hence, there is chatter among experts that the young Kiwi is well on his way to inherit Ricciardo’s seat next year.