Red Bull presents New Zealander Lawson as Verstappen’s new teammate

Liam Lawson is Max Verstappen’s new teammate at Red Bull Racing. The 22-year-old New Zealander is the successor to Sergio Pérez, who had to leave the Austrian racing team despite an ongoing contract.

Lawson is preferred to the Japanese Yuki Tsunoda, who has been driving for sister team RB, formerly AlphaTauri, since 2021.

The New Zealander is excited about the opportunity to race for Red Bull: “This is something I’ve wanted since I started racing when I was eight years old. I’m super excited to be working with Max and learning of a world champion. I can’t wait to get started.”

Lawson has been part of the ‘Red Bull family’ since 2019. Initially he was included in the junior program. On behalf of AlphaTauri, now RB, the driver made his debut in F1 in 2023. He did this during the Dutch Grand Prix, after Daniel Ricciardo broke his metacarpal in free practice.

Ultimately, Lawson competed in five Grands Prix that season, during which he managed to capture several points. Despite that performance, the team chose to continue driving with Tsunoda and Ricciardo in 2024.

But during this past season, Lawson was given another opportunity. After the race in Singapore he replaced Ricciardo permanently. Originally, the New Zealander was also going to race for RB in 2025, but he has now been promoted to Red Bull’s main squad.

Red Bull announced on Wednesday that it will not continue with Sergio Pérez. The Mexican still had a contract until 2026, but due to disappointing performances it was decided to say goodbye earlier.

Pérez finished eighth in the World Cup standings in 2024, while teammate Max Verstappen became world champion with almost three hundred more points.