A day after announcing that Sergio Pérez will leave Red Bull Racing next year, the Formula 1 team has announced his replacement. Liam Lawson has been promoted as Red Bull’s second driver, as teammate to four-time champion Max Verstappen.
Red Bull opted to promote New Zealander Lawson, 22, from sister team Racing Bulls, often abbreviated to RB -or Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team if you want to name the sponsor-, although the more correct way to name him it would be RB Honda, as it uses the Japanese company’s engines.
Racing Bulls, which can be traced back to Minardi, was previously known as Scuderia Toro Rosso and later Scuderia AlphaTauri, before being rebranded in the 2024 season. Despite being based in Italy, RB has been owned by Austrian conglomerate Red Bull GmbH since 2006 and acted as a junior team before becoming a sister team in Formula 1.
In the 2024 season, RB Honda employed Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo, but he was fired in September and replaced by Lawson for the remainder of the season. Red Bull were impressed by his performances (they had also previously replaced Ricciardo during face races when he was injured in 2023) and promoted him to the main team – skipping Tsunoda, who would have been the logical choice – hoping to take back the title Constructors next year, after losing it to McLaren and Ferrari due to the poor results of Checo Pérez.
“Liam’s performances over the course of his two stints with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls have shown that not only is he capable of achieving excellent results, but that he is also a true driver, who is not afraid to mix it with the best and come out on top “said Christian Horder, director of Red Bull.
Yesterday, Horner told SkySports that Pérez left by mutual consent, choosing to take a sabbatical from Formula 1.
“There is no doubt that racing alongside Max, four-time champion and undoubtedly one of the greatest drivers ever seen in F1, is a daunting task, but I am sure Liam can rise to this challenge and achieve results exceptional for us next year,” Horner added, also highlighting Red Bull’s history of promoting drivers within the Red Bull Junior Programme.
