It was announced by the Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team (RB) that their experienced Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo will be leaving the squad with immediate effect. Red Bull's junior driver Liam Lawson is set to replace the former Red Bull driver.
Ricciardo had joined AplhaTauri (formerly known as Red Bull's sister team) in 2023 and had replaced Nyck de Vries. The Australian's contract was set to finish at the end of the season but the team chose to replace him with six races remaining in the 2024 calendar.
Who is Liam Lawson?
Three-time New Zealand Grand Prix winner Ken Smith mentors Lawson. He transitioned from karting to junior formula racing in 2015. He won his first championship in the 2016–17 NZ F1600 Championship. On top of it, Lawson saw himself finishing in the runner-up spot in the 2017 Australian F4, 2018 ADAC F4, and 2019 Euroformula Open championships.
In 2019, Lawson went on to win the Toyota Racing Series with M2 Competition. The Kiwi driver switched to Formula 3 in 2019 and then moved up to Formula 2 in 2021. In 2023, he competed in the Super Formula Championship, finishing as runner-up to Ritomo Miyata with Mugen.
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In the 2019 Formula 3 season, Lawson drove for MP Motorsport and managed to register 41 points and finish eleventh. The next year he changed teams and while driving for the Hitech Grand Prix, he secured 143 points and finished fifth overall.
In the 2021 Formula 2 season, Lawson kept driving for Hitech Grand Prix. He managed to secure 103 points and finished ninth overall. The next season in F2 saw him race for Carlin and he managed 149 points and finished third overall.
Not the first time driving in Formula 1: Liam Lawson
The 22-year-old was the reserve driver for both Red Bull and AlphaTauri (Later known as RB) from 2022 to 2024. It's not like Lawson will be driving in the pinnacle of sport for the first time. He did back in the 2023 season with AlphaTauri for five races when Ricciardo had injured his hand.
He showed that he has the potential to be in Formula 1 with those five races last year. He managed to secure two points in the Singapore Grand Prix and finished in the ninth spot.
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