Who is Liam Lawson? A closer look at Daniel Ricciardo's replacement for 2023 F1 Dutch GP

It was recently announced that Liam Lawson will replace Daniel Ricciardo in AlphaTauri for the remainder of the 2023 F1 Dutch GP. The news broke right after the second practice session in Zandvoort.

Liam Lawson is a Red Bull junior who is currently competing in the Super Formula Championship with Team Mugen. He is also a reserve driver for the Red Bull and AlphaTauri F1 teams.

The New Zealander started his journey in motorsport quite early when he competed in several karting championships at the age of seven.

In 2015, Lawson started in the Formulae Series, competing in the Formula First Manfeild Winter Series. He gradually moved up the ranks from Australian F4, F3, and F2. He also won the NZ F1600 Championship Series in 2016–17 and the Toyota Racing Series in 2019.

In Formula 2, the highest Lawson was able to finish was third in 2022, after which he shifted to Super Formula and worked as a reserve driver for Red Bull and AlphaTauri.

During the second practice session in the Dutch GP, Daniel Ricciardo accidentally lost focus and control of his car, especially after seeing an already crashed Oscar Piastri. However, during the crash, he was still holding onto the steering wheel, which caused a bone in his left hand to break. He will be replaced by Liam Lawson for the Dutch GP.

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Liam Lawson completely focused on Super Formula while hoping to get any seat in F1

When Daniel Ricciardo got the AlphaTauri seat after Nyck de Vries, many discussed how Red Bull's junior, Liam Lawson, should have been promoted to F1. However, the youngster himself does not care and has said he is eager to just get any seat in the sport.

Furthermore, Lawson is currently focused on winning the Super Formula Championship, something that Red Bull wants him to achieve. Motorsport.com quoted him as saying:

"I just need a seat, and whoever’s seat it is, I don’t really care! I am just focused on this. It’s what [Red Bull] has told me to focus on as well. The expectation is for me to go and win the championship, and then we’ll discuss it."

Of course, Lawson has a lot of experience and is believed to be skilled enough to drive in F1. However, he has not had a chance to crack the top single-seater series. Hence, this opportunity to drive with AlphaTauri in the Dutch GP is massive for him.