Liam Lawson reveals ‘couldn’t walk’ shock after getting Red Bull call from Marko

Liam Lawson has revealed how a call from Red Bull came at the “perfect time” to save his racing career.

The Kiwi driver is on the verge of having his Formula 1 future clarified by Red Bull, with the deadline for the option on his services having passed.

Liam Lawson reveals critical Red Bull call timing

As part of Red Bull’s junior programme between 2019 and ’23, before making his debut in F1 as a substitute for the injured Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri last season, Lawson looks set to have his immediate F1 future clarified by Red Bull in the days following this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix.

VCARB, the renamed AlphaTauri squad with which he took part in five races last year, is without a confirmed second driver as Ricciardo’s contract is not yet renewed, and the Kiwi driver has been heavily linked with the seat.

Red Bull is understood to have had an option on his services until the middle of September, with one of its two Red Bull teams needing to offer him a race seat or release him to pursue other opportunities.

Appearing on Red Bull’s Talking Bull podcast on Tuesday – an indication that Red Bull has taken up that option – Lawson opened up on how he got the call-up from Red Bull in the first place to join its junior programme.

“Funnily enough, I was actually racing in New Zealand when I got signed,” he recounted.

“So we have this series – it used to be really, really popular. A lot of F1 guys have been there.

“Lando [Norris] raced in it, Lance Stroll raced in it, a couple of guys in F1 raced in it. It’s called the Toyota Racing Series and it used to run five weeks over January in New Zealand in summertime, whereas everywhere in Europe and the US would be a lot colder, so there’d be no racing.

“So you used to get drivers from all over different championships, really high level.

“So as a kid being into Formula 1, I would watch this series every single year, and I dreamed of driving it – to me, it was like the Formula 1 of racing at the time.

“I finally got to compete in this series after doing my first year in Europe. After the first weekend that, basically I had a really strong first weekend, there was a Red Bull driver racing at the time – Lucas Auer.

“He was racing, he was my teammate. So I guess Helmut [Marko, head of Red Bull’s junior programme] was watching because of Lucas racing. I had a really good first weekend.

“I never thought anything like that would happen. Being a Red Bull Junior was something that… I remember, the year before, I raced in F4 in Europe and Jack Doohan was a Red Bull junior at the time, and we tested together somewhere. Might have been Hockenheim in Germany.

“I remember seeing him walking around in his Red Bull suit and I remember thinking that was so cool and how cool it would be to be a Red Bull Junior.”

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Liam Lawson left ‘unable to walk’ after Helmut Marko phone call

That weekend proved to have impressed Marko to the point where Lawson was approached to join the programme, and the resulting phone call left Lawson literally without the ability to walk.

“I got the call up after that first weekend in New Zealand, I found out one or two days after the weekend – I was sitting in a cafe, I remember exactly where I was sitting,” he said.

“I remember I couldn’t walk! It was really strange. I got told, and I was obviously pretty emotional but I was like, ‘Dude, I gotta go for a walk’, and I couldn’t really walk properly! It was super weird.”

It was the enormity of the moment which caused Lawson’s shock, as he revealed his career had been set to come to an end within a matter of weeks had he not got that support from Red Bull.

“It was a big achievement because, long story short, being from New Zealand and trying to compete overseas, it’s really, really hard to get the money to compete overseas,” he said.

“So we set up, in New Zealand, a group of amazing people that have been behind me, sponsors and investors, the structure to basically get enough money to go to Europe and do a season and try and get recognised by a junior team.

“Because, without it, there was no chance of getting to F1. I did that first season in Europe, and I had a good season, but I didn’t have any call-ups from any teams, and then I just did this championship in New Zealand over the off-season with no plan of what I was doing in 2019, and I got basically picked up at the perfect time, and it saved my career.

“Without it, I had four weeks left in that championship, and then I had no plan after that.”

With Lawson playing the “waiting game” to get clarity on his future, the Kiwi revealed that, prior to recording the interview, he had been hard at work in the simulator.

“That’s basically a lot of what my role is. Obviously, as a reserve, I don’t do so much driving,” he said.

“I don’t do any racing. It’s actually the first time, since I was probably seven years old, that I haven’t raced in a championship in a season. So most of my role is development, sort of behind-the-scenes stuff.”

Asked whether it’s tricky to sit patiently on the sidelines, having been appointed as the reserve and simulator driver for Red Bull’s two teams this year, Lawson said: “It’s obviously part of it. It’s tricky, for sure, especially because I got a sort of very short taste of Formula 1 last year, and it was incredible.

“But, obviously, then I had to step back into this position, and now, basically, it’s a bit of a waiting game. So it gives a different perspective. I’m obviously very fortunate to have done it, and it probably helps my role as reserve more now because I sort of know what it’s like to drive.”

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