Liam Lawson Racing Bulls Driver Profile: The Kiwi Who Keeps Coming Back
Liam Lawson: Fast Facts
- Full name: Liam Jared Lawson
- Date of birth: 11 February 2002
- Born in: Hastings, New Zealand
- Nationality: New Zealander
- Current team: Racing Bulls
- Car number: 30
Liam Lawson Racing Bulls in 2026 is the kind of story that reminds you why sport is worth covering. Liam Lawson has taken a different route: dropped, demoted, written off, and then handed three races in the Red Bull RB22 while Isack Hadjar recovered from a wrist injury. He is back at Racing Bulls from the Azerbaijan Grand Prix onwards, with the paddock watching on with fresh eyes.
Liam Lawson: Driver Profile at a Glance
Liam Jared Lawson was born on 11 February 2002 in Hastings, New Zealand. He carries car number 30 and races under the Racing Bulls-Red Bull Ford banner in 2026. He has been part of the Red Bull Junior Team since 2019. He competed in Formula 3 and Formula 2, finishing third in the F2 championship in 2022 with four wins and six podiums. That junior record made a senior seat feel inevitable. What nobody predicted was how complicated the path to it would be.
With AlphaTauri racer Daniel Ricciardo breaking his hand in a practice crash at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, Lawson was ready to strike. After a debut in the rain at Zandvoort, the entire paddock took notice in Singapore, where the rookie brilliantly beat world champion Max Verstappen to a Q3 spot and bagged some valuable points.
The Red Bull demotion that defined the Liam Lawson Racing Bulls narrative
Lawson was promoted to a full-time drive with parent team Red Bull for 2025, replacing Sergio Pérez to partner Max Verstappen, but was demoted after the second round. Two races. That was it. Sky Sports pundit Naomi Schiff put it plainly: “It was really tough what they did to Liam Lawson; they promoted him into that seat quite quickly, and they removed him from that seat even quicker.”
Verstappen himself reportedly disagreed with the decision. Several insiders have suggested a calmer, more supportive structure at Racing Bulls helped Lawson rebuild the confidence that was so visibly shaken during his brief and torrid Red Bull stint. A strong sixth place at the Austrian Grand Prix followed, before an eye-catching fifth in Azerbaijan. Late-season points in Brazil and Qatar sealed his reputation, and he closed 2025 in 14th place with 38 points. Not a championship season. A survival season. And sometimes that matters more.
For context on how Hadjar’s injury before Zandvoort handed Lawson a second chance at the senior team, the timing is striking to say the least.
2026 Season: Career-Best form at Racing Bulls
In the 11 rounds before the summer break Lawson failed to score only three times, and he went into the break ninth in the standings on 43 points, the best-placed driver outside the top four teams, after a five-race scoring streak through the middle of the season. His 2026 has been the strongest of his career. After the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, round 15 of 23, he is still ninth, now on 59 points, 22 clear of rookie team-mate Arvid Lindblad.
He has helped put Racing Bulls fifth in the standings, on course for what would be its strongest championship finish in any of its guises. Lawson has highlighted the need to find rhythm and routine as the keys to his turnaround: “When you’re in a good rhythm and you find things that are working for you, it’s obviously a good feeling.”
Lawson then got an unexpected return to Red Bull’s senior team, standing in for Isack Hadjar, who suffered a wrist injury in a boxing session during the summer break. It was almost deja vu: he made his F1 debut at Zandvoort in 2023, replacing Daniel Ricciardo after Ricciardo hurt his wrist during the weekend. Zandvoort has a habit of opening doors for this man. Check our full Zandvoort farewell feature for the context of that weekend.
The stand-in lasted three races. Lawson finished seventh at Zandvoort and sixth in Madrid, and went pointless at Monza. On 23 September Red Bull said Hadjar had recovered and would be back in the car at Baku, and Lawson returned to Racing Bulls alongside Arvid Lindblad. Red Bull thanked him for his “professionalism, dedication and hard work over the past three races”. The same day, Red Bull confirmed Hadjar as Max Verstappen’s team-mate for 2027, which closes off the senior seat for now. Sky Sports F1 reports that Racing Bulls still has to choose between Lawson and Lindblad for 2027.
Driving Style and Personality
His racecraft is aggressive and uncompromising, which cuts both ways. Lawson is recognised for his ability to extract consistent pace while managing tyres effectively, a key skill in modern Formula 1. Away from the paddock, Lawson keeps a low profile. He is based in the United Kingdom but returns to New Zealand when the calendar allows. He has spoken openly about his Christian faith and its role in handling career setbacks. There is a quiet resilience to him that never quite translates into headlines, which is precisely what makes it real.
For New Zealand, he remains the country’s flag-bearer at racing’s highest level. A nation of five million people produced legends like Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme, yet decades passed without a regular Kiwi presence on the grid. Lawson is filling that gap with something to prove at every single race weekend.
For the full picture on how the second half of the 2026 season could reshape the midfield order, and to track Lawson’s standings in real time, follow our 2026 Dutch GP schedule and session guide at Zandvoort for the context of his Red Bull cameo.
Profile last updated 27 September 2026.