F1: Liam Lawson to take the seat on Red Bull, partnering with Max Verstappen

Red Bull has a deep racing organization with many promising drivers

By Bruce Brown Published December 19, 2024

Liam Lawson replaced Daniel Ricciardo on RB Honda mid-season in 2024. — Courtesy of F1

Red Bull Racing names RB Honda driver Liam Lawson to fill the vacant seat for the F1 2025 season. Lawson’s selection comes just one day after Red Bull announced driver Sergio Perez will be leaving the team at the end of 2024.

The cascade of driver changes follows a bittersweet 2024 Grand Prix season in which Red Bull driver Max Verstappen won his fourth Drivers’ Championship. Perez’s lackluster performance since June resulted in Red Bull falling to third place in the Constructors’ Championship. Combined drivers’ Championship points determine the Constructors’ title, which includes financial awards based primarily on the teams finishing order in points.

Recommended Videos

Liam Lawson as the second Red Bull driver

Lawson will be Max Verstappen’s teammate. Red Bull hopes that Lawson can be a consistent point scorer, placing high enough that, combined with Verstappen’s assumed continued dominance, the two drivers will snare the Constructors’ title for the team.

Lawson has been driving for Red Bull’s second team, RB Honda. He was promoted to that seat midway through the 2024 season when he replaced popular driver Daniel Ricciardo, who tried unsuccessfully to make a comeback after being out of F1 for a stint.

Previously, Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner stated that if Perez left Red Bull, Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, the other RB Honda driver, would be candidates for the Red Bull seat. Lawson won, and Tsunoda, who has driven for RB Honda since 2021, lost.

What happens next with RB Honda

Red Bull has a deep racing organization with many promising drivers. The current speculation is that the 2024 F2 runner-up Izack Hadjar will fill the second seat for RB Honda.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

A Digital Trends Contributing Editor and Contributor for TheManual.com, Bruce Brown writes e-mobility reviews and covers…

Topics

Auto

Feel the speed: F1 X brings legendary F1 race cars to Las Vegas Grand Prix Plaza

In F1 X, fans use interactive tools to design and construct an F1 race car.

Aston Martin AMR23 at F1 X in Grand Prix Plaza in Las Vegas.

When the Las Vegas Grand Prix Plaza officially opens its doors on May 2, the massive F1 X interactive exhibit will feature three of the most famed race cars in F1's 75-year history. None of the cars has been displayed previously in North America.

Spanning 20,000 square feet, F1 X provides guests with numerous opportunities to immerse themselves in F1. Among the activations available at F1 X, fans will learn about the workings of F1 today, including experiencing F1 simulator seats and spending time on an interactive pit wall, listening to virtual race engineers converse and strategize on team radios.
An iconic race car sampler on view at F1 X

Auto

F1 in the Americas 2025: six Grand Prix Championship races from May to November

The Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix is the first of six F1 races in the Americas in 2025

Aerial shot of the 2023 F1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix.

F1 moves to Florida for the Miami Grand Prix, May 2-4. The Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix 2025 is the first of six races in the Americas in the 2025 F1 schedule.
Why F1 races in the Americas matter

Formula 1 has a global scope, but the most significant growth in the motorsport's popularity has recently been in the Americas, particularly in the United States.

Auto

F1 engineer reveals how he found a job and fulfillment with the Red Bull pit crew

Nicholas provides plenty of evidence that work in an F1 pit garage is a high-pressure job

Life in the Pitlane by Calum Nicholas bookcover shot against road with yellow centerlines.

Anyone who aspires to work for a Formula 1 racing team would do well to read Calum Nicholas's new book, Life in the Pitlane. Nicholas, a senior engineer who has been part of the F1 Red Bull Racing team since 2015. He is also a member of the pit crew that held the 1.82-second world record for the fastest Formula One pitstop from 2019 until 2023.
How Nicholas found a job with the Red Bull F1 pit crew

Nicholas details his journey as a young man growing up in England. He had an interest in cars, but lacked direction until he attended the Formula 1 2009 British Grand Prix at Silverstone with his mother. Prior to the race, they walked the pit lane, an experience Nicholas now describes as a "light-bulb moment."