Racing Bulls owes much of its impressive 2026 Formula 1 campaign to Liam Lawson, who is enjoying the strongest season of his career so far. The New Zealander recently secured an outstanding sixth-place finish at Silverstone, while also becoming one of the standout performers in the midfield.
Lawson, however, is equally grateful to the Italian-based team, where he says he learned how to cope with the relentless pressure of the Formula 1 paddock—something that is especially intense within the Red Bull driver programme. Long before reaching Formula 1, though, he was already familiar with high-pressure championship battles, having narrowly missed out on the 2021 DTM title while racing a Ferrari 488 GT3. In an exclusive interview with FormulaPassion, Lawson looked back on the experiences that shaped his journey to Formula 1.
The road to Formula 1
Like many racing drivers, Liam Lawson’s passion for motorsport began at a very young age.
“As a kid, I was basically obsessed with cars and motorbikes. Honestly, I think it’s something I was born with. I was obsessed with anything that had an engine. I started karting when I was six years old and raced in New Zealand for six or seven years. Those were some of the best years of my life, racing karts with my dad before moving to Europe at the age of 15 to chase my Formula 1 dream.”
His story differs from many others in motorsport, where a passion for racing is often inherited from family members.
“My parents never raced. I don’t know why I became so obsessed because nobody else in my family was. It was simply something that came naturally to me.”
Chasing a Formula 1 career also demanded significant sacrifices: “Leaving school at a very young age and moving away from my family and friends back home were probably the biggest ones. I literally live on the other side of the world now. I don’t get to see them very often, and when you make that move at such a young age, it can feel quite lonely. But I was doing it to pursue my dream, so I never really looked at it as a sacrifice.”
Lewis Hamilton and his childhood heroes
Reaching Formula 1 eventually allowed Lawson to race alongside the driver he admired most while growing up.
“When I was very young, my idol was Lewis Hamilton. Back when I was karting and watching Formula 1, he was the driver I followed most closely. As I got older, though, I also started looking up to New Zealand drivers trying to reach Formula 1, like Richie Stanaway, Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy.”
Lawson explained why those drivers became important role models: “They were all chasing the same Formula 1 dream that I had. I’m close with all of them now, and they’ve each had fantastic careers in their own way. It’s great to follow what they’re doing and be able to speak with them.”
Among them, Nick Cassidy became an especially important figure.
“The one I’ve worked with most closely is Nick when we raced together in DTM. He’s incredibly intelligent and one of the best at understanding the car from an engineering point of view. He helped me a lot during DTM and later in Japan when I was racing in Super Formula. He’s someone I still speak to regularly.”
The Ferrari DTM title that slipped away
Lawson and Cassidy competed together in the 2021 DTM championship, where Lawson drove a Red Bull-liveried Ferrari 488 GT3.
“We had a really strong season. Our best weekend came at the Red Bull Ring, where we won both races and got ourselves back into the championship fight. It was a fantastic season and something completely different from what I was used to. Growing up I’d only raced single-seaters, so competing in DTM was a lot of fun.”
That title battle came down to the final race at the Norisring, where Lawson’s championship hopes ended after first-lap contact: “It wasn’t a nice ending. Honestly, it’s something I’ll never forget. We’d done an incredible job all season. We’d earned the chance to fight for the title, and then to be taken out deliberately wasn’t a good feeling.”
Despite the disappointment, Lawson says the experience introduced him to a completely new style of racing: “It was completely different, and at the start of the year it was difficult because I was racing in Formula 2 while constantly switching between GT cars and single-seaters. Eventually I adapted.”
He also developed a real appreciation for GT racing: “I loved it. I really enjoyed racing GT cars because you could race much closer together and even have a bit of contact. They’re obviously very different and much slower than single-seaters, but I enjoyed that challenge.”
Looking to the future, Lawson admits he would like to explore other racing categories, much like Max Verstappen has done through simulator racing and other motorsport activities.
“I love driving cars, riding motocross bikes and doing lots of different things. If I had to choose another championship one day, it would probably be the Australian Supercars series—but definitely not right now.”
Preparing for Formula 1’s new era
For now, Lawson’s complete focus remains on Formula 1, where he is enjoying his strongest campaign yet despite the challenges posed by the 2026 regulations.
“The biggest challenge is energy management and trying to optimise it. It’s becoming less and less under our control because of the way the regulations are evolving, which is probably a positive thing. Even so, there are still ways to extract a bit more performance.”
He also believes the characteristics of the new cars have significantly changed the driving experience: “The cars are slower, so you can play around with them more. They’re easier to drive and easier to slide, but overall they’re definitely slower.”
Looking further ahead, Lawson already has clear ideas about the future direction of Formula 1 regulations.
“Personally, I’d like to see less power coming from the battery and more from the internal combustion engine. Energy management makes driving more complicated. This year they’ve removed a lot of aerodynamic downforce simply to compensate for the lack of energy. Either having a much bigger and more powerful battery—or removing it altogether—would help.”
Life inside Formula 1
Lawson’s objective for the remainder of the 2026 season is to help Racing Bulls secure fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship, although he insists there is still a long way to go.
“This season has been really positive, but we’re still only in the first half of the year. There’s a long road ahead.”
He also rejected the idea that his improved results have come from making major personal changes: “Nothing has really changed from my side. I haven’t done anything dramatically different compared to last year. I think the team is simply working very well at the moment, and every weekend we’re learning something new about the car.”
Finally, Lawson reflected on the emotional highs and lows of life as a Formula 1 driver: “The best part is when you have strong weekends and everything comes together. Those moments are incredibly exciting. The difficult part is when things aren’t going well. There’s enormous pressure to perform in Formula 1, especially within Red Bull. Those are the toughest moments.”
Fortunately, experience has made those challenges easier to handle.
“It’s something you gradually get used to. I’ve been part of Red Bull for a long time now. When I first arrived it was definitely harder, but today I’m much more comfortable dealing with that pressure.”
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