Liam Lawson’s hilarious Super Formula admission after F1 Red Bull call-up
Singapore: Red Bull and AlphaTauri reserve driver Liam Lawson in the paddock at Marina Bay. Singapore, September 2023.
Liam Lawson was so caught up in the excitement of being called up to race in F1 that he forgot one small thing…
Three weeks ago, Lawson got a mid-weekend call-up to replace the injured Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri, with the Kiwi driver taking over the AT04 for Saturday and Sunday’s track time at Zandvoort.
Having flown back to Europe to serve as Red Bull’s reserve driver after his duties in Japan as a Super Formula racing driver with Team Mugen, his day job was the last thing on his mind as he settled into his role with AlphaTauri.
Liam Lawson forgot to tell his Super Formula bosses about F1 gig
Asked about what reaction he had received from his bosses in Super Formula, Lawson laughed as he realised he’d never actually directly told his team that he had been called up to race in F1.
“Now that you mention it, I never told them!” he said.
“So it all happened very, very quickly. I’ve spoken to them since then but it wasn’t something I actually told them!”
With Lawson’s F1 duties not having any impact on his Super Formula racing schedule, where he currently occupies second in the championship and just eight points behind leader Ritomo Miyata, Lawson was full of praise for the outfit in helping him becoming a stronger racing driver.
“They’ve been super supportive, all season as well,” he said.
“They’ve been amazing to work with and I think it’s helped honestly a lot to be ready for something like this.”
The Super Formula championship finale takes place at Suzuka at the end of October and, as a result, Lawson doubts he will have to miss those races for F1. Asked whether he’ll see out the season in Japan, he said: “I think so, at this stage, yeah. There’s plenty of time before our last round, for Daniel to come back. So, right now, it’s race by race here but I should have enough time.”
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劳森已明确表示,he wants an F1 seat for 2024, and said that he’s going to find it very difficult to accept anything less – the Kiwi remains a contender for a full-time race seat next season, with Red Bull yet to confirm the driver line-up for the AlphaTauri team.
“A little bit, but I think it’s just making the most of this situation now,” he said, when asked if any initial conversations had been held.
“I guess we see what happens but it’s obviously very rare that you get an opportunity to drive in Formula 1 and I have now so it’s just about making the most of it.
“Yeah, I think now that I’d say now that I’ve had a taste, it’s definitely something I’ve fallen in love with. I don’t think I can settle for anything less.”
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