Speaking to Speedcafe, Liam Lawson opened up on how key his stint in Super Formula was to understand F1 cars, highlighting the issues youngsters have in F2 regarding lock set-ups.
It has been announced that Liam Lawson is going to Red Bull in 2025, replacing Sergio Perez who’s parting ways with the team. The young New Zealander has come a long way and was already linked to the potential seat for quite some time.
Lawson: Super Formula “was what really prepared me” for F1
Coming to the pinnacle of motorsport, there are many things new drivers have to learn and be able to do. Even the preparations they go through in the feeder series like F2 and F3 are usually not even a fraction of the real deal. Lawson especially highlights this in terms of car set-up, which is more restricted in those.
The 22-year-old spent four seasons in F3 and F2 combined. His best championship result was P3 in 2022 in the Formula 2 category.
“Formula 1 is constantly, nearly every weekend – you’ve got new parts on the car, you’re developing the car and it’s the most sort of open championship to that extent, where the teams are investing so much money and time into just developing the car. And you don’t experience that in any other championship leading up to F1.”
Car tweaks in Super Formula the biggest help regarding F1
The New Zealander feels like his time in Super Formula gave him more strength and understanding of things. The knowledge from that series is beneficial for him. He can work on and make set-up changes with push rods, pulls rods, ride heights and everything on the car.
Lawson had a great campaign in the Japanese racing series in 2023. He finished P2 in the standings, 8 points behind 2024 F2 driver Ritomo Miyata.
“The only real experience I had of a tiny version of that was in Super Formula. Because the regulations are a little bit more open and there’s a bit more room there to develop. And bigger teams. That was something that was really beneficial for me to do.
“And I see, I think a couple of other guys [Bearman] are testing there now, maybe over December. I’m hoping that people realise how beneficial it is to do that.
“Because for me, it was what really prepared me. It gave me that last little edge coming into F1 that helped prepare me for it. Because being a fast driver is just nowhere near enough to be in Formula 1. There’s so many things you have to do. Including being able to be very accurate with what you’re talking about with how the car’s performing, trying to help put the car in the right direction.
“Because quite often you can almost go down a direction, you do all this development and time and effort and money into a direction that you think is what needs. And if you’re not accurate about that, you can go down the wrong path and it can be really difficult. So you almost have to come back five steps and start again.”
Media duties as a part of the learning process
Another big part of the life of a Formula 1 driver is media duties. Once again, it’s something the lesser series can’t really prepare you for to the full extent.
Lawson already experienced unfortunate misunderstanding for himself the he was asked something about McLaren in a podcast. In jest, he said something about it being a New Zealand team and then had to clarify it at the next race, because people were taking it as a serious news story.
“I can’t trust you guys,” Lawson joked about the journalists and media in general.
“No. I understand it completely, but it was [definitely] something that I probably didn’t realise enough. That everything that we say is taken into consideration. Or quite often taken into a different light as well, which is, I think, what happened there.
“As much as I’m massively proud to be a New Zealander and maybe do believe that the team was from New Zealand, I probably put it wrong. And it was obviously taken into a very different light.
“So yeah, it’s something that is part of the learning process. We spend a lot of time learning how to drive the cars and operate the cars and be fast drivers and be fit and work with the team to give good feedback.
“But I would say we spend less time thinking about this side of stuff that you don’t really have so much preparation for coming into F1. It’s something that you just kind of have to learn, which I’m learning along the way.”
Message from Lawson to Lawson
Now that Liam Lawson is going to Red Bull, the big topic for the him is of course the learning process and improvement to compare to more experienced and perhaps even veteran drivers on the grid. That includes Max Verstappen. However, when thinking about a possible message that his older self would advise him in twenty years, Lawson also pointed out the importance of enjoying the current moment and the whole journey.
“I think it’s tricky, because I can only sort of take it from people who either I have learned from. Or, you know, people I’ve worked with over the years. Coaches that have been a driver in the past have all told me to enjoy the moment, enjoy the pressure of being in this situation right now,” he shared.
“Obviously, it’s the present. So I’m thinking about everything that’s going on right now. But I think looking back, I’ll probably end up missing this. And I try to think about that.
“It’s advice I’ve been given by a lot of people, whenever I’m really nervous or under pressure or feeling that sort of anxiety before a session or before a weekend, to realise what’s going on. Because if I do go back to when I was a kid and think about the position I’m in right now, it obviously was my dream.
“And so to really enjoy it, to make the most of it. Realise the opportunity I’m in right now. It’s crazy and unbelievable. And yeah, hopefully just enjoy it, make the most of it,” Lawson concluded.
