“Stoked and so proud”: Shane van Gisbergen comments on Max Verstappen’s potential future F1 teammate

NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Shane van Gisbergen expressed his views on fellow Kiwi driver Liam Lawson's potential move to the Red Bull seat alongside Max Verstappen. Lawson's success this 2024 season prompted rumors that he might be preferred over his teammate Yuki Tsunoda to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull. If the rumors were to be believed, then Lawson would become four-time World Champion Max Verstappen's teammate for the 2025 season.

Lawson joined the Red Bull Junior team in 2019 and got his first experience with an F1 car at the 2021 Goodwood Festival of Speed, driving the 2011 Red Bull RB7. He then took part in the Abu Dhabi Young Driver Test at the end of the 2021 season and was the reserved driver for AlphaTauri since 2023. In 2024 he got his full-time seat under the RB Formula One Team (the rebranded AlphaTauri).

Shane van Gisbergen has been an early mentor to the RB Junior team driver and lauded the 22-year-old F1 driver over his success, saying (via Motorsports.com):

"Obviously, I went the Touring Car route, and he went to chase the dream in Europe in single-seaters. Now he's succeeded at it. The way he's gotten to F1 has been a little difficult the last couple of years. But seeing him get this opportunity full-time now, I'm just stoked and so proud,” Gisbergen said.

Following the Kaulig Racing driver's success in his rookie season in the Xfinity Series and winning Australia's Supercars Championship thrice, Van Gisbergen secured a full-time seat in the Cup Series for the 2025 season.

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Shane van Gisbergen to join Trackhouse Racing for the 2025 season

Earlier this season at the Daytona International Speedway, Trackhouse Racing team owner Justin Marks announced that Shane van Gisbergen would be racing for the team in the 2025 season as a full-time driver in the Cup Series alongside Daniel Suárez and Ross Chastain.

Gisbergen will be driving the #88 Chevy Camaro ZL1 as the team's third driver. Trackhouse Racing acquired a charter from Stewart-Haas Racing following its departure from the Cup Series in 2024. Reflecting on the big news, the Kaulig Racing driver said (via ESPN):

"I never thought it would happen this quick."

The team parted ways with Zane Smith, loaning him to Spire Motorsports for the season, as they had two charters. Justin Marks expressed his thoughts on giving the #88 Chevy Camaro to Gisbergen:

"Shane checks a lot of boxes for a really, really compelling story of building a great business in this sport."

Shane van Gisbergen proved himself in his rookie season in the Xfinity Series. He secured three wins, along with ten top-ten finishes and three pole positions. Additionally, he ran 14 races in his two-year stint in the Cup Series and won one race, securing four top tens and a pole position.