Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing RB21, 2025. Photo: AFP
Analysis: Seven years after New Zealand last had a full-time driver in Formula 1, Liam Lawson will step into one of the hottest seats in the championship.
Lawson is team-mate to four time defending champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull and starting this weekend in Melbourne the 23-year-old has a job to do as the team's number two driver.
Fundamentally he is there to pick up points for Red Bull in the constructors' championship and in any way possible help Verstappen win a fifth world drivers' championship.
The 2025 season opens with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park with most interest on who will challenge Verstappen for the title.
Lando Norris of McLaren is the favourite for many to end the Dutchman's run.
There will also be a lot of eyes on the performance of Lawson who takes over a controversial seat.
He will be driving in the shadow of Verstappen but he has something to prove after replacing Sergio Perez and being picked ahead of Yuki Tsunoda.
Lawson becomes Verstappen's fifth team-mate at Red Bull since 2016 with Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Perez all getting their chance before being moved on.
With Verstappen dominating since his first title in 2021, the role of the second driver has not been so important, but with Red Bull finishing third in the constructors' championship in 2024, the need for Lawson to pick up points has become a priority for the team.
Perez failed to do that last season and was sacked.
The Mexican finished in the top four of the drivers championship in his first four years with Red Bull, but slipped to eighth in 2024.
Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson of Red Bull Racing. Photo: AFP
After naming Lawson in the 2025 Red Bull line-up, team principal Christian Horner said they would be giving him some time to settle in.
Lawson has raced in 11 grands prix and he will need all of that experience to get up to speed quickly.
From 2010 to 2023 the constructors championships had been decided by a dominant team. Red Bull from 2010 to 2013, Mercedes from 2014 to 2021 and Red Bull again in 22 and 23.
In all of those years the successful teams' top driver also won the drivers' title except in 2021 when Verstappen won the individual honours and Mercedes the team title.
The lowest the number two driver had finished with his team still winning was sixth in 2012 when Sebastian Vettel won for Mercedes and Mark Weber was sixth.
McLaren won in 2024 constructors' title with Lando Norris second and Oscar Piastri fourth.
The value between winning the constructors title and coming third can be counted in tens of millions of dollars in prize money.
That does put pressure on Lawson.
Following preseason testing in Bahrain team boss Christian Horner told F1 TV that he was very happy with Lawson's progress.
"He's done a great job so far, he's working his way into the team and his feedback is good," Horner said.
Horner admitted they would give Lawson time to get up to speed.
"We're going to have to give him a little bit of time. He's only done 11 grands prix, he's not quite a rookie, but he's not far off there.
"It's a big step for him, but he's got broad shoulders and a good racing head on him.
"I think he'll be fine. He's a tough character and very, very determined. It's great to have that enthusiasm in the car."
2025 was set to be the closest competition for a number of years with the top four teams expected to contend in every race.
If last year was anything to go by then McLaren and Ferrari were on the rise and Red Bull on the decline. Mercedes was the unknown.
As a member of one of the top four teams Lawson needs to be aiming for at least a top eight finish in every race.
Red Bull Racing's New Zealand driver Liam Lawson at Bahrain testing, 2025. Photo: AFP
The Red Bull car is the unknown quantity.
Verstappen said after preseason testing that he didn't think they would be contenders in Australia, however the Dutchman will always be a contender no matter what car he is in.
Last year he was forced out early with a brake issue and will be keen to make amends.
Lawson showed an aggressive streak in his races with RB in 2024 but he'll need to be a little more circumspect this year in a better car.
Give him a couple of races and if the car is good then he should be able to set his sights on a podium. The last New Zealander to do that was Denny Hulme in 1974.
If Lawson ends up only mixing it with the also-rans in 2025 then his Formula 1 career could be short lived.
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