Nothing set in stone: Liam Lawson feels pressure to make good on Formula One chance

AUCKLAND – Having secured a race seat with Red Bull-owned RB, Liam Lawson is mindful he could lose his Formula One chance in months if he fails to perform for the rest of the season.

The 22-year-old New Zealander, announced as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement at the Italy-based outfit last week, will return to racing at a sprint weekend in Austin, Texas, on Oct 20.

The United States Grand Prix is the first of a triple header that consists of Mexico and Brazil, before the remaining three races conclude the current season.

Lawson already impressed Red Bull’s top brass when he replaced an injured Ricciardo for five races last term at the team formerly known as AlphaTauri.

He is heavily backed to retain his RB seat next season, with only Japanese teammate Yuki Tsunoda confirmed for 2025.

Lawson, however, said he was guaranteed nothing beyond the final six races.

“I’ve been given this opportunity for a reason. But obviously it’s always performance-based. Even when you have a full-year contract, or a multi-year contract, those can be broken,” he told the New Zealand Herald.

“It’s not set in stone, I’m not guaranteed racing next year. That’s the target, that’s why they’ve given me this opportunity – to prepare me for hopefully driving next year. But they still need to evaluate how I go in the car.”

The Kiwi, however, will be hit with an immediate grid penalty in Austin, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner confirmed. The penalty, inherited from Ricciardo for exceeding the season’s engine allocation, is 10 places in the first instance.

Lawson became the 10th Kiwi driver to start a grand prix when he replaced Australian Ricciardo at Zandvoort in 2023, and the first since Brendon Hartley with AlphaTauri’s predecessor Toro Rosso in 2018.

Having bided his time as reserve driver in 2024, Lawson’s ascension has excited fans and media in New Zealand, and been a big relief to his family.

His parents Jared and Kristy sold their family home to support his racing dream, while his sisters also shelved promising careers in Irish dancing to help their brother.

Lawson said telling family and his other backers was the most enjoyable thing about his F1 chance.

“Everyone I called – all my family, my mum and dad included and the board of amazing people who’ve believed in me since day one – their first reaction was exactly the same,” he said.

“It wasn’t excitement or happiness, it was relief. I could hear it in their voice after how long it’s been, how much hard work and sacrifice have gone into this, especially for my family.”

Meanwhile, Renault are to stop producing Formula One engines from 2026, ending almost half a century of use in the sport, the French manufacturer’s Alpine team announced on Sept 30.

The move had been flagged by Alpine’s former team boss Bruno Famin in July.

The struggling F1 outfit will return to being a customer team from 2026 for the first time since 2015, when they used Mercedes power units.

Renault entered F1 in 1977, introducing the turbo engine to motor racing’s flagship sport. The firm’s F1 engine factory at Viry-Chatillon, near Paris, is to be transformed into an engineering centre for future Renault and Alpine cars.

Alpine are enduring a trying time with senior personnel jumping ship and the team languishing ninth out of 10 teams in the constructors’ standings with a mere 13 points from 18 races.

Pierre Gasly accounts for eight points, with Esteban Ocon the other five. REUTERS, AFP