Lawson selected the number 30 as his personal driver number in Formula One, which he had used since age eight in honour of his karting mentor.[4] He plays the guitar and has recorded music.[5]
Junior racing career
Karting
Lawson began karting in 2008, competing in numerous championships across New Zealand, including two karting titles in 2014. Each year, he returned to the Kartsport Auckland Go Kart Club on Rosebank Road, Avondale and competed in the big City of Sails race on Auckland Anniversary Weekend according to Speedhive myLaps, the transponder company that was used.[6][7][8][9][10][11]
Lower formulae
In 2015, Lawson made his single-seater debut in the Formula First Manfeild Winter Series with Sabre Motorsport, taking a win and ten podiums to finish second overall.[12] A few months later, he joined Sabre to contest the NZ Formula First championship, taking a win and three podiums on his way to sixth in the championship and the Rookie of the Year title.[13][14][15] The following year, Lawson graduated to the NZ F1600 Championship Series.[16] There he dominated proceedings, claiming fourteen of the fifteen victories on offer to become the youngest champion in not just the series' history, but the youngest ever Formula Ford champion in world at the time.[17]
In 2017, Lawson moved up to the Australian F4 championship with BRM, taking five wins to finish second in only his rookie season.[18][19] The following year, Lawson remained at Formula 4 level, moving across to contest the ADAC Formula 4 championship with Van Amersfoort Racing and received backing from Turner's, the New Zealand used car network that had previously sponsored IndyCar champion Scott Dixon.[20][21] Claiming three wins and three pole positions, Lawson's performances saw him claim his second consecutive F4 runner up position, behind Lirim Zendeli.[22]
Toyota Racing Series
In November 2018, Lawson joined M2 Competition for the 2019 championship.[23] Lawson dominated on debut at Highlands, taking two races wins by over nine-seconds each and won the Dorothy Smith Memorial Trophy as a result of winning Race 3.[24][25] Claiming three additional wins across the season, Lawson secured the title at the New Zealand Grand Prix after a season long battle with Ferrari junior and fellow countryman Marcus Armstrong.[26]
Euroformula Open Championship
Lawson had been set to join the inaugural season of the Formula European Masters with Motopark, alongside fellow Red Bull Junior Yuki Tsunoda, but followed the German outfit to the Euroformula Open Championship when Formula European Masters was cancelled due to a lack of entrants.[27][28][29] Lawson won the opening races at Paul Ricard, and also in Pau.[30][31] He would go on to take two more victories to become runner-up to Marino Sato.[32] He did however, win the rookies' championship.[33]
International Formula 3
In November 2018, Lawson competed in the season finale of the Asian F3 championship with Irish outfit Pinnacle Motorsport.[34] He proceeded to dominate the weekend, taking all wins, fastest laps and pole positions on offer to finish eighth in the championship.[35][36]
In March 2019, Lawson joined MP Motorsport to contest the inaugural FIA Formula 3 Championship, alongside Richard Verschoor and Simo Laaksonen.[37] His debut at Barcelona proved challenging, qualifying lowest of the MP Motorsport drivers and retired from Race 1 due to a throttle motor failure.[38] Improvement followed in Paul Ricard, where he scored his first points with ninth place in Race 1 and further advanced to fifth in Race 2.[39][40] After failing to score in Austria, but rebounded in Silverstone and held the lead for half of the race before being overtaken by Leonardo Pulcini and Robert Shwartzman, eventually securing third place.[41] The result marked both Lawson's and MP Motorsport's first podium of the season.[42] Lawson endured scoreless rounds in Hungary and Spa-Francorchamps before returning to form in Monza. After qualifying thirteenth, he progressed to seventh in Race 1, giving him a front row start in Race 2. Although he dropped positions at the start, Lawson recovered and passed Fabio Scherer and Jake Hughes to finish second behind Yuki Tsunoda, earning his second podium.[43][44] In the final round in Sochi, Lawson made up ten positions in Race 2 to finish eighth, after overtaking Max Fewtrell and Christian Lundgaard on the last lap.[45] Overall, Lawson concluded the season eleventh in the championship with 41 points, scoring both of the team's podium finishes.
Macau Grand Prix
Just two weeks after the final round, Lawson was announced to compete at that year's Macau Grand Prix, remaining with MP Motorsport.[46] Lawson qualified fifteenth, but in the qualification race slipped back to twentieth, before eventually coming through to finish seventh.[47]
2020
Lawson moved to Hitech Grand Prix for the 2020 season, partnering Max Fewtrell and Red Bull juniorDennis Hauger.[48] He opened the season in Austria by qualifying twelfth and improving to sixth in the first race. and charged to sixth. In Race 2, Lawson climbed to third before overtaking Clément Novalak and David Beckmann to move into the race lead. He resisted late-race pressure from former teammate Richard Verschoor to secure his maiden Formula 3 victory.[49][50] During the second Austrian round, Lawson qualified tenth and finished eighth place in wet conditions in Race 1. Starting third in Race 2, he moved into the lead after passing Jake Hughes and Théo Pourchaire. A prolonged battle ultimately ended in a collision between the pair on lap 21, resulting in a double retirement which handed the win to Pourchaire.[51] Lawson endured a difficult weekend in Hungary, retiring from both races due to mechanical failures.[52]
From Silverstone onwards, Lawson scored points in every remaining race of the season. There, he narrowly missed out on pole position,[53] but overtook polesitter Logan Sargeant on the opening lap to claim his second win of the year.[54][55] He added a seventh place in Race 2. During the second Silverstone round, Lawson again qualified second[56] and finished third in the opening race,[57] before narrowly missing a podium in Race 2 after running wide while battling Pourchaire.[58] In Barcelona, Lawson qualified third despite an engine issue compromising his pole position attempt.[59] He finished second in Race 1 after overtaking Sargeant late on;[60] followed by seventh in Race 2, which elevated him to third in the championship standings.[61]
In Spa-Francorchamps, Lawson finished seventh in Race 1 and recovered to third in Race 2 after losing positions at the start.[62] Lawson initially qualified fourth in Monza. Lawson inherited pole position in Monza following post-qualifying penalties.[63] Damage sustained in early contact with Matteo Nannini limited him to sixth in Race 1. In Race 2, he finished second on the road after briefly leading, but a post-race penalty for forcing another driver off-track dropped him to seventh.[64] He concluded his season in Mugello, by finishing tenth in the first race, before dominating Race 2 to secure his third victory of the season.[65] Lawson finished fifth in the championship with 143 points, recording three wins and six podiums throughout the season.
On January 2021, Lawson was announced to be competing in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Hitech Grand Prix alongside Jüri Vips.[69] Lawson qualified eighth on his debut in Bahrain. In the opening sprint race, he made a strong start to take the lead and successfully defended against late pressure from Jehan Daruvala to secure his maiden win on debut.[70][71] His fortunes were reversed in the second sprint however, as Lawson was taken out by Felipe Drugovich in a three-way scrap for third place.[72] Nevertheless, he redeemed himself with third place in the feature after a pass on Richard Verschoor on the last lap.[73][74] Lawson ended the opening round second in the championship. In Monaco, Lawson qualified twelfth and finished ninth in the first sprint race. He started the second sprint from pole position after Marcus Armstrong was unable to take the grid. After briefly losing the lead, Lawson reclaimed first place with an overtake on Oscar Piastri at Rascasse and went on to take the chequered flag in first.[75] However, he was later disqualified for using a prohibited throttle map, handing victory to Dan Ticktum.[76] He later described his disqualification as "hard to swallow".[77] He finished seventh in the feature race.[78]
Lawson claimed his maiden pole position in Baku, forming a front row for Hitech.[79][80] His opening sprint race ended early after contact with Piastri broke his suspension,[81] but recovered to finish seventh in the second sprint despite a power loss.[82] In the feature race, an aggressive defence on Théo Pourchaire during the opening lap earned Lawson a ten-second penalty; he eventually finished sixth.[83] In Silverstone, Lawson qualified eleventh and scored points in both sprint races, finishing seventh and fifth respectively. He placed just outside the points in the feature race.[84][85] In Monza, Lawson qualified fourth but front wing damage forced him into a pit stop early during the opening sprint race; he managed to recover to fifth.[86] He finished fourth in the second sprint and ran as high as second in the feature race before retiring due to a power issue.[87] Lawson qualified eighth in Sochi,[88] but retired from the first sprint after damaging his suspension while running third.[89] Lawson finished seventh in the feature race after a slow start.[90]
In Jeddah, Lawson qualified tenth and started from reverse pole in the first sprint, but was outdragged by Marcus Armstrong on the opening lap; nevertheless he finished second which marked his first podium since Bahrain.[91][92] He retired from the second sprint after crashing out late in the race,[93] and finished ninth in an aborted feature race.[94] Lawson qualified seventh for the Yas Marina finale. He finished fifth and sixth in the sprint races,[95] but retired from the feature race due to an engine issue.[96] Lawson concluded his rookie season ninth in the championship with 103 points, scoring one win and three podiums.[97]
He began his campaign strongly in Bahrain, qualifying sixth. He finished third in the sprint after passing Ralph Boschung late,[100] and followed this with second place in the feature race after avoiding incidents among the leading runners, thereby coming away with a double podium.[101] Following the round, Lawson noted that he felt more comfortable in Formula 2 after contesting a dual campaign in the 2021 DTM season.[102] In Jeddah, Lawson qualified fifth and soon found himself in podium contention during the sprint race after Dennis Hauger's pit lane error. Following a safety car restart, he swiftly overcame Calan Williams and Jake Hughes to secure his first win of the season.[103] He was set to continue his podium streak running third during the feature race, but retired due to a loose wheel immediately after his pit stop,[104][105] nevertheless he retained second place in the championship.
Lawson endured a difficult triple-header thereafter. In Imola, he qualified fourteenth and recovered to eighth in the sprint race,[106] but retired from the feature race after a steering wheel failure caused a crash.[107] In Barcelona, Lawson qualified sixteenth and narrowly missed points in the sprint race.[108] Despite a strong start in the feature race, he faded to ninth after losing places to cars on fresher tyres.[109] In Monaco, Lawson initially secured pole position,[110] but his lap was deleted for failing to slow under yellow flags, and he received a five-place grid penalty for the sprint race.[111] He scored a point with eighth in the sprint but stalled on the grid in the feature race and later retired with engine issues.[112] Lawson returned to form in Baku, qualifying second.[113] He finished third after a strong restart late in the race saw him gain multiple positions,[114] but suffered a puncture after being hit by Jack Doohan in the feature race; he was forced to pit which resulted in a fifteenth place finish.[115]
Lawson secured four wins and ten podiums on his way to finishing third in the championship.
In Silverstone, Lawson qualified fifth. Contact in the sprint race caused front wing damage which necessitated a pit stop, and he finished 20th. In the feature race, he made a strong start to move into third, and held the position to take another podium.[116] In the Austria, Lawson qualified fourteenth and retired from the sprint race after stalling on the grid and encountering technical issues.[117] He salvaged a point with tenth in the feature race after opting for slick tyres at the start.[118] Lawson qualified ninth in Paul Ricard.[119] After briefly losing second at the start of the sprint race, Lawson eventually made the move for the lead with a late pass on Jehan Daruvala, earning him his second win of the year.[120][121] He finished sixth in the feature race.[122] In Hungary, Lawson qualified eleventh and recovered to sixth in the sprint race.[123] He placed seventh in the feature race on the alternate strategy.[124]
At Spa-Francorchamps, Lawson qualified sixth. A good start moved him into second at the start, before overtaking Ralph Boschung on the next lap to secure another victory.[125][126] He followed this with a third place in the feature race after a battle with Enzo Fittipaldi.[127] In Zandvoort, Lawson qualified sixth position and finished fourth in the sprint race after overtaking Vips at the start.[128] A strategy gamble on hard tyres in the feature race was compromised by a safety car, leaving him twelfth at the finish.[129] In Monza, Lawson qualified second.[130] He recovered from an average start in the sprint race to finish sixth,[131] later promoted to fifth following a post-race penalty for Richard Verschoor.[132] In the feature race, Lawson briefly led after overtaking Doohan at the start but lost time after failing to capitalise on a pit stop under the safety car. He was later spun around by Vips which caused front wing damage, and eventually finished thirteenth.[133] At the Abu Dhabi finale, Lawson qualified ninth and secured his fourth victory of the season in the sprint race after overtaking Verschoor.[134][135] In the feature race, he finished third after an early pit stop proved successful.[136] Lawson concluded the season third in the drivers' championship with 149 points, four victories and ten podiums.[137]
Following then-reserve driver Jüri Vips' exclamation of the racial slur "nigga" during a Twitch livestream (in which, incidentally, Lawson was also present) during June 2022, team principal Christian Horner confirmed that Lawson had been promoted to replace Vips as the reserve driver for Red Bull Racing, sharing this role with AlphaTauri.[145] Lawson made another FP1 appearance with AlphaTauri at the 2022 Mexico City Grand Prix.[146][147] He made his Red Bull debut during practice at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.[148] Lawson then took part in the post-season tests in Abu Dhabi driving the Red Bull.[149]
Lawson continued as reserve driver for Red Bull and AlphaTauri in 2023.[150] In February, he drove the RB7 for a demonstration run during the 2023 Bathurst 12 Hour.[151] Following the British Grand Prix, Nyck de Vries was removed from his seat at AlphaTauri, with Daniel Ricciardo being chosen ahead of Lawson to replace the Dutchman.[152] Following the announcement, Lawson stated that he "understood their decision" and commented that jumping in mid-season would be "extremely tough".[153]
AlphaTauri / Racing Bulls (2023–2024)
2023: Debut in a reserve role
Lawson made his Formula One debut at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix for AlphaTauri, temporarily replacing Ricciardo after he sustained a broken hand in a crash in Friday's second free practice session.[154][155][156] With limited practice time which included a spin, he qualified in 20th.[157] Despite a ten-second penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen in the pits, Lawson finished in 13th place in a challenging and eventful debut race.[158] Most notably, it included battling with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and finishing higher than his AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda.[159][160] On 28 August 2023, AlphaTauri team principal Franz Tost stated that Lawson would likely continue to race for the team at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix.[161] This statement was confirmed hours later, as Lawson would also be keeping his replacement role until Ricciardo is fit to race.[162] Lawson qualified in 12th place at the 2023 Italian Grand Prix and finished in 11th place.[163] At the 2023 Singapore Grand Prix, Lawson qualified a career-best tenth place, most notably, knocking championship leader Max Verstappen out of the second part of qualifying.[164][165] After fending off Alex Albon during the last laps, Lawson finished the race in ninth, scoring points for the first time in Formula One as well as becoming the second AlphaTauri driver that year to score.[166]
Lawson finished in eleventh at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix, ahead of Tsunoda in 12th.[167] Lawson endured a rough final appearance at the Qatar Grand Prix,[168] where he spun out of the sprint and finished last of the runners during the race.[169][170] Ricciardo was well enough to return for the following United States Grand Prix, and Lawson returned to his reserve role.[171]
2024: Late-season stint
Lawson continued his role as reserve driver for Red Bull Racing and RB Formula One Team (the rebranded AlphaTauri) in 2024.[172] Lawson completed a filming day with the Red Bull RB20 in mid-July at Silverstone, following the British Grand Prix.[173] At the end of July, he completed another day of testing for RB with the 2022 AlphaTauri AT03 at Imola.[174] Due to poor performances by Ricciardo in the early parts of the season, rumors speculated that Lawson could replace him mid-season, but Ricciardo denied later in the season that manager Helmut Marko had threatened to do so.[175]
Ricciardo was dropped by RB after the Singapore Grand Prix, with Lawson replacing him for the remaining six rounds of the season.[176] At the United States Grand Prix, Lawson started 19th due to engine penalties.[177] Starting on the hard tyre, Lawson went long and was able to jump teammate Tsunoda during the pit stops. His efforts yielded him ninth place, which received praise from Christian Horner.[178][179] Lawson qualified for the Mexico City Grand Prix in 12th.[180] He had a contentious battle in the race with Red Bull driver Sergio Pérez, and made contact with him, causing Lawson to raise his middle finger at him after passing him a few laps later. He ultimately finished one place ahead of Pérez in 16th, and later apologised as he admitted that it was "not something that [I] should have done".[181][182] After narrowly missing out on points in his first sprint at the São Paulo Grand Prix, Lawson produced his best qualifying result to date in a rain-hit session, securing fifth on the grid, two places behind Tsunoda.[183] In the race, although he was spun by Oscar Piastri on lap 26, Lawson was able to withstand the treacherous conditions and finish in ninth place.[184]
At the Las Vegas Grand Prix, starting 14th, Lawson attempted a one-stop strategy, but a long second stint left him pitting late and he eventually finished 16th.[185] Lawson had a miserable Qatar Grand Prix, colliding with Valtteri Bottas in the opening laps which earned him a ten-second penalty. Attaining floor damage from the contact, he was left to finish in 13th place.[186] At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Lawson had another troubled race when his front left wheel was not fitted correctly during his pit stop, forcing him to pit again. A mechanical issue later forced him out of the race with three laps remaining.[187] Lawson finished the season 21st in the standings, collecting four points across the six Grand Prix he competed in.
Red Bull (2025)
Lawson was promoted to Red Bull in 2025 to replace Sergio Pérez, partnering defending four-time World Drivers' Champion Max Verstappen.[1] At the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, he qualified eighteenth before crashing out of the race in changing conditions.[188][189] Lawson qualified last for both the sprint and main race in China, finishing fourteenth at the former and twelfth at the latter following three disqualifications—and a penalty for Jack Doohan—ahead of him; Red Bull opened discussions to replace him with Yuki Tsunoda after his performances in the opening two rounds.[190]
Lawson was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda from the Japanese Grand Prix onwards, with Lawson moving back to Racing Bulls to partner FIA Formula 2 runner-up Isack Hadjar for the remainder of 2025.[191] Team adviser Helmut Marko admitted Red Bull "made a mistake" in their decision to promote Lawson only 11 Grands Prix into his career, adding that he "lost confidence and [couldn't] show his real potential".[192] He finished seventeenth on his return after a strategic error, having qualified fourteenth.[193] Lawson received two penalties as he finished sixteenth at the Bahrain Grand Prix: one for causing a collision with Lance Stroll and another with Nico Hülkenberg.[194] He finished eleventh in Saudi Arabia, dropped to twelfth after receiving a 10-second time penalty for leaving the circuit.[195] He finished thirteenth in the Miami sprint after receiving a five-second penalty for a collision with Fernando Alonso,[196] and retired during the main race due to floor damage.[197] He scored his first points of the season at the Monaco Grand Prix, where he played a key role in helping teammate Hadjar finish sixth, as he claimed eighth. He scored points again at the Austrian Grand Prix in a career-best sixth. He sustained terminal damage after colliding with Esteban Ocon on the opening lap of the British Grand Prix. Lawson finished eighth at both the Belgian and Hungarian Grands Prix, holding Max Verstappen behind him at the latter. Lawson broke both his qualifying and race finish records at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, qualifying third and finishing fifth. Lawson finished 15th at the Singapore Grand Prix, remaining 9 points adrift of Hadjar in the drivers' standings.[198]
2026: New regulations
Lawson is contracted to remain at Racing Bulls in 2026, partnered by rookie Arvid Lindblad.[199]
Other racing
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
Lawson competed in the 2021 DTM, driving a Red Bull-sponsored Ferrari for the AF Corse team alongside F1 reserve driver Alex Albon.[200] He was taking part in the DTM concurrently with his first Formula 2 season.
On 19 June 2021, Lawson won the opening race of the 2021 DTM in Monza, becoming the youngest-ever race winner in the series.[201][202] After a spin in the second Monza race cost him a points finish, he finished second in both races at the Lausitzring in the next round, where he was leading the second race until a problem in the pits cost him a win.[203][204]
After failing to score points in three of the four races in the next two rounds,[205] Lawson got his second victory in the DTM on 4 September 2021 in the first race of the fifth round at the Red Bull Ring, which also marked the first time he started a DTM race from pole position.[206] The following day, he went on to claim his third victory in the DTM by winning the second race at the Red Bull Ring after starting from second position.[207]
After four podium finishes and a fourth-place finish in the next five races,[208][209] Lawson qualified on pole position for the final race of the season at the Norisring. Prior to the start of the race, he was leading the drivers' championship by 19 points ahead of Kelvin van der Linde in second and 22 points ahead of Maximilian Götz in third, respectively.[210] However, Lawson's car was damaged in a first-lap collision with van der Linde, which left him lapping 20 seconds off the pace after re-joining the race. Towards the end of the race, Mercedes gave team orders to Lucas Auer, who dominated the race, and Philip Ellis to allow Götz to claim the lead and secure his third win of the season, which put him three points ahead of Lawson in the final standings for the drivers' championship.[211] After the race, Lawson was visibly disappointed with his second-place finish in the drivers' championship. He said he was "pushed off" by van der Linde and called the South African "the dirtiest guy [he's] ever raced against." Van der Linde was given a five-second penalty for the manoeuvre, prior to receiving a puncture in another battle with Götz in the closing stages of the race.[212] He also stated that he no longer intended to remain in the series.[213]
Super Formula
Lawson left F2 at the end of 2022 and contested the 2023 Super Formula Championship with reigning champions Team Mugen alongside two-time drivers' champion Tomoki Nojiri.[214] Lawson was immediately on the pace during the first race in Fuji, qualifying his Honda-powered car third and becoming the first driver to win on their Japanese Top Formula debut since 1978.[215][216][217] In the second race, Lawson was on route for a third place, but a safety car infringement penalty demoted him to fifth place.[218][219] The third round in Suzuka saw him qualify down in ninth,[220] but he improved to fourth place in the race.[221] In Autopolis, he qualified second while his teammate was sidelined due to a collapsed lung,[222] and in the race he managed to undercut polesitter Sho Tsuboi and hold off a late charge from Ritomo Miyata for the race win and the championship lead.[223][224] Lawson had a tough round at Sugo, qualifying down in sixth.[225] A radio miscommunication meant Lawson was left to contend with fifth place, losing the points lead to Miyata by 12 points.[226] However, the New Zealander bounced back with a second win in three races during the second Fuji round, putting him within a point of Miyata.[227][228]
In Motegi, Lawson qualified in third, earning a point and taking the championship lead.[229] However, Lawson spun at the start after running wide while trying to pass teammate Nojiri, and the Kiwi would cause a multi-car pileup which red-flagged the race.[230] He received a drive-through penalty because his team worked on the car during the red flag, and was left to finish down in 13th place.[231] Despite dropping to eight points off Miyata heading into the double-header finale at Suzuka, Lawson praised his team for repairing his car in time for the restart.[232] Lawson qualified seventh, during the first race of the Suzuka finale.[233] However, an early red flag during the race confined Lawson's charge to sixth place.[234] He then took his first and only pole for the second race.[235] He would then lose the lead to Kakunoshin Ota at the start, and eventually settled for second place.[236] Regardless, Lawson was beaten by Miyata to the title and became runner-up in the standings with three wins, a pole and another podium, as well as claiming 106.5 points.[237]
Lawson did not continue in Super Formula for 2024, opting to focus on his reserve driver role full-time.[238]
‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed. † Driver did not finish the race, but were classified, as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
† Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Notes
↑Lawson selected the number 30 as his personal driver number, per FIA regulations; in 2023, he competed using the standard reserve number 40 for AlphaTauri.
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New Zealander 
