Liam Lawson secures FP1 drive in Spa
Friday, 26 August 2022
The 20-year-old is currently serving as a reserve driver for Red Bull Racing.
Kiwi Formula 2 driver, Liam Lawson, will make his Formula 1® practice debut for Alpha Tauri at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend.
The Red Bull junior driver will take to the wheel of Pierre Gasly’s AT03, participating in Free Practice 1 in the first race back since the summer break.
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New Zealand hasn’t had a Kiwi on the Formula 1® grid since Brendon Hartley in 2018, having completed 25 race starts for Toro Rosso.
“[I’m] super excited to say I’ll be doing my first FP1 this weekend at Spa,” Lawson said in a video announcement posted to Alpha Tauri’s social media.
“I honestly couldn’t think of a better place to do it, there’s going to be a very exciting feeling. [It’s a] historic track and a place that I’ve always enjoyed driving. So in a Formula 1 car is gonna be incredible.”
The 20-year-old is currently serving as a reserve driver for Red Bull Racing and AlphaTauri, joining Juri Vips in participating in one of the two first practice sessions for junior drivers this season. The Estonian completed a first practice session in the RB18 earlier this year at the Spanish Grand Prix.
“I’ve been doing a lot of sim work over the year as well, leading up to this, so I think the prep was really, really good and, obviously, I had my first outing last year in December. Since then, honestly, I’ve been dying to get back in the car.”
With the Formula 2® season getting back underway at Spa this weekend, Lawson currently sits in eighth in the Championship Standings, where he is joined by fellow New Zealand countryman Marcus Armstrong.
It's time to get back on the track 👊
— F1 Australian Grand Prix (@ausgrandprix) August 26, 2022
The #BelgianGP kicks off the second half of the #F1 season tonight 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/6bBYjpA94H
