![At the bottom of the third inning, the Lions are still scoreless. Rowe stands at home plate, preparing to bat, while Vandenbrink stands off to the side as the next batter up. Despite having the bases loaded, the team was unable to score any runs. “It’s just the beginning of the season. We’re just going to be playing out best by June, [and] that’s where champions are,” Rowe said.](https://wlhsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_3077-1200x900.jpg)
Formula 1 (F1) is a sport all about taking chances. On each lap, drivers are going up against the clock and the scrutiny of the team principals in the paddock for the chance to join the grid. Enter Liam Lawson, Formula 1 driver. Formula 1 is the top level of global motorsport, where drivers go to battle in cars created from the ground up through decades of innovation.
Lawson, 21 years old, is the most recent driver to start a Formula 1 race. Unlike the 19 other drivers, he did not start the season in March, but rather months later. Lawson was the Alpha Tauri team reserve driver before stepping into the Formula 1 car. He participated in other racing series throughout 2023, most notably in the Japanese Super Formula series, where he is currently sitting second in the driver standings.
Within the first 20 minutes of practice two, contracted driver Daniel Ricciardo was injured in a crash that involved Oscar Piastri, McLaren driver. Ricciardo announced later that day that he had suffered a break in the metacarpal bone in his right hand, due to the steering wheel ripping out of his hands as he made contact with the barrier, only feet from the stricken McLaren.
Despite qualifying 20th for his first outing, Lawson had to battle rain, a penalty for impeding another driver in the pitlane, a race stoppage, and a subsequent restart to eventually come home 13th, just outside of the point scoring positions.
Christian Horner, team principal for Red Bull Racing and the sister team to Alpha Tauri, was one of the first to publicly comment on Lawson’s performance.
“I mean, the poor guy [was] getting dropped in wet, dry, all the conditions thrown at him, I actually think he did pretty well,” Horner said.
Lawson finished in front of his teammate, Yuki Tsunoda, who has two years of Grand Prix driving experience.
Lawson was brought back for the next Grand Prix in Italy, bringing an 11th place position back to the team, utilizing the car’s strengths all race and finishing in front of Tsunoda, who had an engine failure during the formation lap.
His 11th place in the race left Lawson disappointed.
“[I am] still playing catch up,” Lawson said.
Despite his efforts in Monza, he scored in the next round at Singapore. What makes it more special for Lawson is that he scored on the streets of Singapore, a track with hot and humid weather, putting Max Verstappen and the Red Bull Racing team’s record-breaking 10-race win streak ground to a halt. Jolyon Palmer, former driver for the Renault Team, is now a journalist for F1.com, spoke on Lawson’s result.
“Singapore is arguably the hardest race on the calendar,” Palmer said. Palmer has driven in Singapore, finishing 15th in both of his starts.
“Physically, it’s brutal,” Palmer said. “It’s a long, hot, humid, bumpy race, with walls lining the edge of the circuit ready to punish you for even the slightest lapse of concentration, as fellow rookie Logan Sargeant discovered.”
For Lawson, this has become a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he has used it to the fullest of his abilities, which might have made the future Formula 1 grid look different.
Logan Sargeant, Williams driver, had his grid position uncertain during his freshman year in Formula 1, partially due to Lawson’s uprising. Sargeant, 22 years old, has yet to finish in the points this year, but his results show improvement. Despite an unsigned contract, Sargeant is still the top contender to return.
Lawson has been confirmed to continue his fill-in role with Alpha Tauri and is slated to continue his duties for round 18 in Qatar. If Ricciardo’s condition does not improve, there is a chance he will be called in for the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, though that is too far away to know if that is a possibility.
With the season coming to a close, the Alpha Tauri team have decided the 2024 lineup of Ricciardo and Tsunoda, moving Lawson back to reserve driver status. But, has Lawson’s performance as the substitute enough to convince the team principals to put pen to paper for 2025, or will the lights go out without the New Zealander?
