Gone are Liam Lawson’s days of being a super sub. After spending two years as Daniel Ricciardo’s mid-season replacement, he finally achieved his dream when Red Bull called him up to the main squad this year. Years of hard work and more importantly patience have finally paid off.
Lawson was rumored to be the frontrunner for Sergio Perez’s Red Bull seat for several months leading up to the announcement. At a point—with Perez’s horrendous performances that affected Red Bull’s Constructors’ ambitions—it even looked given.
But still, the moment a driver gets the call that they are going to be in the pinnacle of motorsports will always remain special. Lawson knew that, which is why he called the one person who had supported him forever, the moment he got to know.
His dad, Jared Lawson.
Talking to Tom Clarkson on the F1: Beyond the Grid podcast, the Kiwi driver said, “He’s somebody that has played a massive role in me growing as a person.”
Lawson continued, revealing that he’s not from a motorsport family, which means his dad could not particularly relate to his passion, or understand it for that matter. Still, he made his son’s dream of making it to F1 his mission.
A new-look Red Bull
Liam Lawson joins Max Verstappen at Red Bull, replacing Sergio Perez #F1 pic.twitter.com/3JUb4J4Cok
— Formula 1 (@F1) December 19, 2024
“He was the main influence I had as a kid. He let me believe that if I worked hard enough for something, no matter what it was, I could do it…” Lawson’s parents also made some huge sacrifices while he was growing up, which included selling off their house.
He wasn’t from a particularly affluent family and to fund his karting ventures, this drastic measure had to be taken. “They gave absolutely everything for me to be able to race, even just go-karts because it’s so expensive,” Lawson said on the Talking Bulls podcast.
How Lawson’s sisters gave up on their dreams for him
It isn’t just the parents who make sacrifices as evidenced by the role Lawson’s sisters Holly and Jessica played when they were growing up. Both of them wanted to make a career in dancing, but because of the amount of effort it took for Lawson to climb the ranks in motorsports, they had to put a stop to that.
“They had to stop. They couldn’t compete and go overseas anymore because of my go-kart racing. I absolutely love my family,” he said in a Red Bull TV documentary.
Thankfully, none of it went in vain.
Lawson was one of the most exciting youngsters in Red Bull’s academy and was always poised for success. Even in the 11 F1 races he has taken part to date, the 23-year-old has shown why he was so highly reputed.
After all, not many rookies can say they out-qualified and outperformed Max Verstappen in a race—as Lawson did in Singapore 2023. Fast forward to 2025 and he’s an F1 driver with Verstappen as teammate. Although not the highest-paid star on the grid, Lawson will still earn a million-dollar salary. Not a bad return on investment.
