Liam Lawson has been sharing his reaction to the news that he will become a Red Bull driver in 2025, with the New Zealander giving an insight into how he found out about his promotion as well as what his goal will be as he prepares to go up against Max Verstappen.
Following the announcement on December 18 that Sergio Perez and the Milton Keynes squad had agreed to part ways with immediate effect off the back of a challenging season, speculation soon arose over who would replace the Mexican at the team.
ANALYSIS: Perez had a contract for 2025 – so why has his Red Bull journey come to an end now?
One day later it was confirmed that Lawson – who has impressed as a super-sub at RB across two respective stints in 2023 and 2024 – had been given the nod to make the step up and become Verstappen’s team mate next season.
Speaking on Red Bull’s Talking Bull podcast, a beaming Lawson said of the move: “It’s very exciting, I still can’t really believe it but I’m just excited. I can’t stop smiling.”
When asked if the news had sunk in yet, the 22-year-old responded: “Honestly, no. It’s the first time I’ve had a bit of time to [think about it], because normally I get stuff… when I was a reserve and I jumped in in Zandvoort [as a substitute for an injured Daniel Ricciardo in 2023], that was on the weekend that I found out, obviously it was a sort of freak circumstance.
“And then Austin [this year] as well, [it] was probably two weeks before I knew that that was going to happen, so at least now I have an off-season to think about it. I don’t really know if I like that, though, because I just want to get into it! I’m just excited. It’s positive [that] I have time to really let it sink in, spend the time, do the prep, come back strong and ready.”
