Liam Lawson promoted to Red Bull after Sergio Perez departure

With Sergio Perez stepping back from Red Bull Racing, Liam Lawson has been announced as the Mexican’s replacement.

Major opportunity therefore knocks for Lawson, who now knows that he will line-up on the F1 2025 grid in Melbourne at the wheel of the Red Bull RB21.

Liam Lawson joins Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing

At just 22 years old, Liam Lawson will be making his full-time Formula 1 debut with the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team.

Lawson first got his shot in F1 back in 2023. AlphaTauri, then the name of Red Bull’s junior team at the time, had removed rookie Nyck de Vries from its driver line-up after several uninspiring performances, bringing in experienced hand Daniel Ricciardo instead.

Ricciardo, though, injured his wrist soon after, which meant de Vries’ replacement needed a replacement. In came Liam Lawson for a stretch of five races, where he took home two points courtesy of a ninth-place finish in Sinagpore.

Many felt that Lawson should have been signed on to the junior team, which became VCARB, in 2024, but that distinction went to Ricciardo. However, Lawson was waiting in the wings to take over for the remainder of the year when Ricciardo was dropped after Singapore.

Now, the New Zealander will be making a huge leap into a top-level team, where the pressure to perform will be higher than ever before, as he takes on the challenge of being team-mate to Red Bull’s four-time World Champion Max Verstappen, a challenge which proved a bruising experience for Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Perez.