Formula 1: Liam Lawson’s three keys to further claim for top-grid spot

Liam Lawson was a multiple-time race winner in Formula 2. Photo / Getty Images

Kiwi driver Liam Lawson now appears closer than ever to earning a spot on the Formula 1 grid after hitting the ground running in Japanese Super Formula. As the 21-year-old looks to further his claim for a place in Formula 1 in the not-too-distant future, Christopher Reive looks at three key elements to make that happen.

Keep winning

Red Bull Racing love a winner, so Lawson taking out his debut race in Super Formula was the perfect way to start. It continued an impressive record for the Kiwi, who has made a habit of winning his debut race when joining a new circuit.

Lawson became the first driver to triumph in their maiden Super Formula start since its inception in 1996 and followed that performance up with two top-five finishes in the 22-car series.

Before the season began, Lawson noted how foreign drivers like himself often strugglein their opening few races while getting accustomed to life in Japan, so to have such immediate success will surely have raised some eyebrows.

Lawson joined Super Formula after two seasons in Formula 2 and missing out on a Formula 1 seat for 2023 at Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri. A lack of experience was one reason given as to why Lawson was overlooked, but being in Super Formula is an indication the team see him as an F1 driver – and potentially soon – as head of Red Bull’s driver development programme Dr Helmut Marko has often noted that Super Formula is closer to F1 than Formula 2 is.

The team sent Frenchman Pierre Gasly to the Japanese series in 2017 for a similar reason. He performed well – finishing second in the championship – and was in F1 by the end of the year.

For Lawson to follow suit, continuing to show pace and challenge for race wins in Japan will be important.

Hope for the worst

The opportunity to win a seat at the top level has to come from somewhere.

The pressure on drivers to perform at Formula 1 level can be highlighted by Daniel Ricciardo’s extremely public dismissal from McLaren in 2022. Ricciardo brought the team their lone race win of the last decade when he stood atop the podium at Monza in 2021, but otherwise largely struggled for results. Despite being under contract until the end of the 2023 season, he was bought out in favour of rookie Oscar Piastri.

For Lawson to get his foot in the door in Formula 1, he might need a similar opportunity to present itself with Red Bull’s sister team.

Current AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda has been under pressure after struggling to finish in the points through his first two years on the circuit – last year scoring just 12 points to finish 17th in the rankings.

He has proven to have pace, though, and this year appears to have turned a corner as the team’s lead driver – improving his position in three of the four full-length races and finishing in the points in the last two. He is off-contract at the end of 2023, and will again be under pressure to perform if he is to retain his seat.

Tsunoda’s teammate at AlphaTauri, Nyck de Vries, was signed on a two-year contract beginning this season after Gasly left AlphaTauri to join French team Alpine. De Vries – who was not part of the Red Bull Academy - was chosen ahead of Lawson due to his experience, with the 27-year-old coming into F1 with Formula E and Formula 2 titles to his credit, as well as an impressive F1 debut in 2022 when he finished in the points driving for Williams – a team who have struggled in recent seasons. De Vries has not had such instant success since securing a full-time seat – not starting higher than 15th on the grid this year and not finishing better than 14th.

Should the drivers continue in the same trend, Lawson can pile the pressure on the two incumbents as he hopes to secure a seat for 2024.

Liam Lawson drove practice sessions in the AlphaTauri Formula 1 car in 2022. Photo / Getty Images

In terms of the top team at Red Bull, reigning champion Max Verstappen isn’t going anywhere soon – with his latest contract having him with the team until the end of the 2028 season. Sergio Perez is signed until the end of 2024 and while there has been speculation his spot could be under pressure, he and Verstappen splitting the first four races of the season between them – and Perez winning the lone sprint race this year – means it’s hard to see a change on the horizon there.

Stand out

Lawson has shown he has pace in an F1 car during his rookie practice runs in 2022 - twice with AlphaTauri and once with Red Bull - and is seen as the frontrunner of the Red Bull Academy drivers to make the next step. However, he isn’t the only one hoping to make a leap to F1 sooner rather than later. Red Bull have six junior drivers in Formula 2 this season, including multiple-time race winners Ayumu Iwasa (Japan) and Dennis Hauger (Norway), who would be Lawson’s biggest in-house threats.

F2 runs to a similar – albeit less hectic – schedule to F1, joining the top competition at a number of its stops. However, while Lawson is racing in Japan, he has retained his duties as the reserve F1 driver for Red Bull and AlphaTauri and does plenty of simulator work with the team. While in this role, he should be establishing himself as the clear top choice of the academy drivers with the powers that be, should they be looking to fill a seat.

With AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost stepping away from the role at the end of the season, it wouldn’t hurt to find a way to impress current Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies too, as he will take over from Tost in 2024.