Liam Lawson has been rewarded for his encouraging Visa Cash App Racing Bulls displays this season in the 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship with an Oracle Red Bull Racing seat for 2025 alongside four-time world champion Max Verstappen. Here is all you need to know:
- New Zealand native Lawson joined the Red Bull Junior Programme in 2019 and, after multiple junior formula successes, he stepped up to finish second overall in the 2021 DTM series for Red Bull AF Corse.
- He made his Formula One debut with Scuderia AlphaTauri at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix and he scored his first championship points in just his second outing at the Singapore GP before completing five races.
- After taking up his Reserve Driver role with both teams in 2024, he returned with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls and banked a points-scoring finish at this year's United States Grand Prix with ninth place then followed up with another ninth place at the Singapore Grand Prix.
- After completing the 2024 season alongside Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, the 22-year-old now takes the next step in his career and replaces Mexican Sergio Pérez.
- Pérez helped the team to second in the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship, then two constructors' titles back-to-back in 2022 and 2023 before a third place in 2024. He also secured second in the 2023 drivers' title race behind Verstappen and third in the 2022 season.
Lawson said: "To be announced as an Oracle Red Bull Racing Driver is a lifelong dream for me, this is something I've wanted and worked towards since I was eight years old. It's been an incredible journey so far. I want to say a massive thank you to the whole team at VCARB for their support, the last six races have played a huge part in my preparation for this next step. I also want to thank, Christian (Horner), Helmut (Marko) and the whole Red Bull family for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I am super excited to work alongside Max and learn from a World Champion, I have no doubt I will learn from his expertise. I can't wait to get going!"
Horner, Team Principal and CEO of Oracle Red Bull Racing said: "I'm delighted to announce that Liam Lawson will join the Team in 2025. Liam's performances over the course of his two stints with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls have demonstrated that he's not only capable of delivering strong results but that he's also a real racer, not afraid to mix it with the best and come out on top. His arrival continues the Team's long history of promoting from within the Red Bull Junior Programme and he follows in the footsteps of championship and race-winning drivers such as Sebastian Vettel and of course, Max Verstappen. There's no doubt that racing alongside Max, a four-time champion and undoubtedly one of the greatest drivers ever seen in F1, is a daunting task, but I'm sure Liam can rise to that challenge and deliver some outstanding results for us next year."