At the Qatar Grand Prix, Liam Lawson shared the story of how he came to find out he'd be racing alongside Yuki Tsunoda at Lusail International Circuit. The way Liam Lawson learned he would be driving for AlphaTauri in Qatar was through a "random" phone call from Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian driver broke a metacarpal in his left hand following a practice collision at Zandvoort, allowing 21-year-old Lawson to make his F1 debut in the Netherlands. The New Zealander is currently in second place in the Super Formula standings after a stellar performance in each of his four cameo outings. His quick adaptation was highlighted by the two points he earned for finishing ninth in the Singapore Grand Prix. Lawson will be demoted to the job of reserve driver for Red Bull in 2024 as Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo have been re-signed by AlphaTauri for next year. This weekend's sprint race in Qatar is likely to be his last as a substitute.
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F1 Qatar Grand Prix: What Conversation Did Lawson Have with Ricciardo?
As part of the pre-race press conference in Qatar, Lawson said: “On Monday I was sitting at lunch, and I had a random number call me, and it was a FaceTime. So I was really confused because people don’t just FaceTime randomly, and it was just Daniel's face. He basically said that he thought he would let me have another weekend. Obviously good to be back, good to be in the car this weekend, a very different circuit, but I'm excited. To be honest, after Japan, it was looking more likely that we would be driving, so we just carried on preparing as normal."
Later, he added: “I didn't assume as I was driving but we just prepped like a normal situation – like I would be. It's a bit different, obviously, I want to be here full time, but I'm just trying to make the most of it.”
Despite knowing that his Lusail experience could be challenging, Lawson said he was "excited" about the thought of participating in a Sprint weekend for what could be his final race of the year.
F1: Liam Lawson's Racing Career
After a promising stint filling in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo, Lawson signed on to be Red Bull and AlphaTauri's reserve driver for the upcoming 2024 Formula 1 season. This weekend in Qatar will likely be Lawson's final outing of the year behind the wheel of the AlphaTauri AT04, and he has already won the admiration of Helmut Marko, who is usually tough to impress.
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Lawson, a native of Hastings, New Zealand, began his racing career as a teenage karting champion. At the tender age of 14, he competed as a rookie in the New Zealand Formula First championship, where he finished in sixth place and was honoured as Rookie of the Year. The young Kiwi driver won the F1600 Championship Series in 2016/17, becoming the youngest driver to ever win the Formula Ford global championship. Lawson also won the Toyota Racing Series, after previously winning the competition in the Euroformula Open Championship, the F3 Asian Championship, the ADAC Formula 4, and the Australian F4 Championship between 2017 and 2019.
Lawson, who replaced Pierre Gasly for his Formula 1 debut, finished 19th in the first practice session for the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix. He is currently a test driver for AlphaTauri and a reserve driver for Red Bull Racing.
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