Liam Lawson opens up on ‘pure relief’ of securing RB drive and reveals when he was told

Liam Lawson will swap reserve duties for race duties over the final six rounds of the season following confirmation that he has replaced Daniel Ricciardo in RB’s driver line-up.

It comes a year on from his super-sub performances with the team, then known as AlphaTauri, which included a standout Q3 appearance and points finish at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Having missed out on a race seat for 2024 and spent the year up to now on the sidelines, the New Zealander will get another shot after Red Bull chiefs decided to give him a seat from the United States Grand Prix onwards.

That comes at the expense of Ricciardo, who cut an emotional figure during last weekend’s visit to the Marina Bay Street Circuit amid persistent questions from the media about his F1 comeback potentially ending.

Speaking to New Zealand’s Newstalk ZB radio station after the swap was confirmed, Lawson offered an initial reaction to the development and how everything unfolded from his perspective.

SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE - SEPTEMBER 20: Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Visa Cash App RB looks on in — Lawson is getting set for a second stint in F1 after replacing Ricciardo in RB’s line-up

“Now it finally does sort of feel real,” the 22-year-old commented. “Obviously I knew about it for the last sort of… the last, probably, two weeks. But until it’s out there to the world, it obviously doesn’t ever really feel set in stone, and I couldn’t tell anybody.”

Pushed on what happened in the background, Lawson continued: “It had been the plan for a long time now. This was sort of where it was leading, at least.

“I had a contract date that needed to be sort of fulfilled. Basically, it was going towards this way and then, a couple of weeks ago, they told me this was what was going to happen. Not long after that, it was basically set in stone.”

Lawson joked that he has “not really” celebrated the news of his promotion yet, with relief being the overriding feeling amongst family members and friends, as well as an awareness of the challenge that lies ahead.

“Obviously I’m very happy, but it’s six rounds left in the season, so I’m coming in at a difficult time,” he said. “It’s going to be a very challenging point. All these [drivers] have done three quarters of a season now, so I have to try and compete with that – at tracks that I haven’t done [driven at] as well.

Daniel Ricciardo and RB part ways

“It’s going to be challenging. I’ve spoken to my parents, obviously, and spoken to everybody that’s been behind me on this journey. It’s very, very special, but we don’t have much time to really let it sink in – we’ve got to get straight to work.”

He added: “It’s funny, because when I found out and I got to call everybody, the first sort of words or the first things they said, all of them including my dad, my mum and everybody, all the sponsors behind me from day one, I could hear the relief in their voice before anything.

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“It wasn’t excitement, it was just pure relief, which is also how I felt to be honest, because it’s been obviously a huge journey and a lot of people have put a lot into this, so it was very exciting.”

Lawson’s late-season stint will allow Red Bull to evaluate his performances against incumbent Yuki Tsunoda, who has already signed with RB through 2025.

Lawson opens up on ‘pure relief’ of securing RB drive and reveals when he was told

Read more as Daniel Ricciardo leaves RB and the Red Bull family

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