The Austin track is getting ready to welcome back Liam Lawson, who has been called up to replace Daniel Ricciardo during a challenging time in the season. Here’s what he said in the press conference!
There are always many stories to tell during Formula 1 events, and for the upcoming race at COTA, the story is about the great return of New Zealand driver Liam Lawson, who will be behind the wheel of the car paired with Yuki Tsunoda.
At the end of the Singapore Grand Prix, we indeed had to say goodbye to Daniel Ricciardo. His farewell ended a period of speculation and rumors that unfortunately turned into reality. Additionally, Honey Badger’s fate mirrored that of American driver Logan Sargeant, who was replaced by Argentine Colapinto just before the Italian Grand Prix. Instead, the seat of the Australian will once again be taken by Liam Lawson, who had already replaced the now-former driver when he was injured during last year’s Dutch Grand Prix (in that case, Daniel Ricciardo had returned mid-season to replace rookie Nick de Vries).

Liam Lawson will face several challenges during the Texas weekend, especially with the format that includes just one practice session: “Yeah, it’s just been busy, I would say. It was strange to have a gap at this point of the year, I think. Obviously, the gap for me was filled up with quite a lot of stuff. So yeah, it’s just preparing as much as possible. It’s a difficult time to come into the season. Obviously, Sprint weekend this weekend, new track, end of the season. So yeah, just trying to be as ready as possible.“.
The New Zealander, however, stated that he feels well-prepared, thanks to the tests conducted with Pirelli on the Italian track of Mugello a few days ago: “It was useful. It was useful for my neck, honestly. We did just long runs, basically. So, yeah, it was good to do, honestly. As much as I would have rather go out and do some short runs and push, it was good to do longer runs and basically just get ready for the longer races in Formula 1.“.
Liam Lawson in Red Bull for 2026? His words!
At the microphones of The Athletic during the media day press conference, Liam Lawson spoke about the possibility of occupying the much-discussed seat alongside Max Verstappen for 2025. He emphasized that his direct comparison will be with his teammate and that his focus will be solely on racing alongside Yuki Tsunoda.
“I mean, I think that’s very far ahead, honestly. The target or the goal that’s been set out is the same as it’s always been since I was 17 and joined the programme. It’s all performance-based and that’s basically how they’ll be looking at it. Obviously, Yuki’s done a very good job the last couple of years and especially this year and he’s the benchmark for them to compare me against. He’s the only one in the same car as me. So I’ll be directly compared with him”.
“And I guess the goal or the expectation from them is for me to compete alongside him. So in terms of where that sets me out for next year or in the future, I have absolutely no idea. But that’s the target that’s been set out.” Lawson concluded.
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