Liam Lawson's FP1 debut

Annaleece Longmore

Liam Lawson‘s high-effort results in his three races this season have sparked rumours that teams could offer him a permanent seat sooner than expected.

The Super Formula driver landed himself in an AlphaTauri car this year in the Netherlands. This followed driver Daniel Ricciardo’s crash in FP2, which resulted in seven fractures to his hand.

At the Dutch GP, despite a limited amount of practice time and a ten-second penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen in the pits, he finished P13.

His eventful debut race saw Lawson compete against Charles Leclerc, ultimately finishing higher than AlphaTauri teammate, Yuki Tsunoda. It was later announced that he would keep his role until Ricciardo was fit to race. He went on to finish P11 in Monza.

Heading to Singapore, a last-minute qualifying lap granted him into Q3, pushing current champion Max Verstappen out. This was the first time Verstappen failed to make it into Q3 since Belgium 2022. Lawson astonished fans when he secured P9 in the chaotic Singapore GP, winning his first F1 points. Not only was this a great achievement but also it was AlphaTauri’s best 2023 result so far in the season.

Liam Lawson’s Career So Far

Before taking the opportunity in Formula 1, the New Zealand driver competed in several different motorsports series. From the New Zealand Formula 1 championship and NZ F1600 Championship series to the Toyota Racing Series, Formula 2, and most recently Super Formula, Liam Lawson has presented himself as a strong new talent in motorsport.

In the 2015 NZ F1600 Championship Series, he claimed 14 out of 15 victories, becoming the youngest champion in the series’ history and all Formula Ford championships.

“The team does not have many results to go off of to warrant re-signing the Australian driver”

Later, in the 2018 Toyota Racing Series, he won five races while battling Marcus Armstrong — securing the title at the New Zealand GP.

After moving through the series for a few years, Lawson landed himself a Formula 2 seat. After winning his debut race in 2021, he unfortunately finished ninth in the championship.

With the 2021 and 2022 seasons, he achieved two wins and 8 podiums overall. Most recently, before temporarily joining F1, Liam Lawson had raced an incredible season at Super Formula. He currently sits in 2nd with 86 points in the standings, with only two more races to go in October.

His Chances of a Permanent Seat

His racing history begs the question of whether Liam Lawson can capitalise on this opportunity for a future F1 contract.

AlphaTauri is yet to announce either of the team’s 2024 contracts. However, there are rumours that the team will be extending Yuki Tsunoda’s contract for 2024.

“It is definitely something I have fallen in love with and I do not think I can settle for anything less.”

When asked about his hopes for a seat in Formula 1, he said: “I think now that… I would say now that I have had a taste, it is definitely something I have fallen in love with and I do not think I can settle for anything less. I think it is just making the most of the situation now

“I guess we see what happens. It is obviously very rare that you get an opportunity to drive in F1 and I have it now, so it is just making the most of it.”

Liam Lawson’s Future with AlphaTauri

The second AlphaTauri seat has been swapped around a lot this season. Due to underperformance, rookie Nyck de Vries was axed and replaced by fan-favourite Daniel Ricciardo. Previous to his injury, Ricciardo had failed to secure any higher than P13 in his two races.

The team does not have many results to go off of to warrant re-signing the Australian driver. Everyone watching the races each week can see that Lawson has potential and ability. Now it is up to the team to decide whether they want to put their faith in him for a whole season.

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Featured image courtesy of Izzlex94 via Wikimedia Commons. No changes were made to this image. Image license found here.

Annaleece is an 19 year-old student journalist in her second year at the University of Sheffield, studying Journalism Studies. You can find her on Twitter at @JournoAnnaleece.

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