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Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson will feature in the first free practice (FP1) at the Belgian GP for AlphaTauri this weekend. Lawson, an F2 driver, will be doing double duty, as the F2 season will resume this weekend as well.
The New Zealander was second in line in the Red Bull juniors, after Juri Vips. Vips has done the FP1 running earlier in the season with Red Bull at Barcelona. However, he was caught using the N-Word on a live stream. The Red Bull junior was subsequently removed from the academy, giving Lawson a boost, as he's now first in line at the academy.
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Lawson has won two sprint races this season in F2 and is the third highest placed Red Bull academy driver, behind Indian Jehan Daruvala and Japanese rookie Ayumu Iwasa. The F2 championship is currently led by Brazilian driver Felipe Drugovich followed by Theo Pourchaire, the Alfa Romeo junior driver.
In 2022, as a push to give more meaningful track time to young drivers, each regular F1 race driver will vacate their seat for one free practice session. The young driver must not have started in more than two races, though.
Earlier in the season, Red Bull fielded Vips in Barcelona. Mercedes gave Nyck De Vries an opportunity at Paul Ricard, while Ferrari have announced that it will give the opportunity to Robert Shwartzman at some point this season.
Haas will have Antonio Giovinazzi driver in FP1 in Italy and the United States. However, with the Italian not fitting the criteria of a young driver, the team will have to run a rookie to meet the regulations.
Red Bull's quest for perfection sets them apart - Sergio Perez
In a recent interview, Sergio Perez was asked what set his team apart from everyone else. The Mexican said that it was the team's quest for perfection, elaborating:
"I think the level of perfection the team is searching for every weekend. If we win that weekend, there are so many things we can do better. We are always pushing hard (to) all the limits, and I think we, as a team, are unique in that regard."
He added:
"It's very different to any other team. Every team is different. Every one has good things and bad things. But certainly, I'm very happy to be part of this (at Red Bull)."
Perez had signed a two-year extension with the team and is going to be Max Verstappen's teammate for some time. Talking about his extension, Perez said:
"It's good to have that continuity with the team - to be able to work on a longer-term basis. I think that's something that I was looking for in the last couple of years. So to have that, I think, is a great plus."
The Mexican (173) is third in the championship heading into the Belgian GP, trailing his teammate Verstappen (258) and second-placed Charles Leclerc (178). It will be interesting to see what the second half of the season has in store for the driver and his team.
