MILTON KEYNES, England — Liam Lawson will partner with four-time reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2025, the team announced Thursday.
Lawson, a 22-year-old New Zealander, replaces Sergio Perez, who was dropped by the team Wednesday after months of poor results. Lawson will switch from Racing Bulls, Red Bull’s sister team, after competing as a replacement driver in 2023 and this year.
“There’s no doubt that racing alongside Max, a four-time champion and undoubtedly one of the greatest drivers ever seen in F1, is a daunting task,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said in a team release, “but I’m sure Liam can rise to that challenge and deliver some outstanding results for us next year.”
Perez’s contract was terminated two years early, with the 34-year-old Mexican ditched after rarely being competitive this season. He had not won a race since April 2023, and the last time he finished higher than sixth in a grand prix was in May. Meanwhile, Verstappen continued to dominate F1, winning nine GP races this year while extending his reign as the top driver on the international open-wheel circuit.
Lawson joined Red Bull’s junior program in 2019 and made his F1 debut at the Dutch GP in 2023 with Scuderia AlphaTauri — later rebranded as Racing Bulls — in place of the injured Daniel Ricciardo. Lawson completed five races for the team that year, and this year he scored points with his ninth-place finish at the United States GP, again replacing Ricciardo.
“Liam’s performances over the course of his two stints with Racing Bulls have demonstrated that he’s not only capable of delivering strong results,” Horner said, “but that he’s also a real racer, not afraid to mix it with the best and come out on top.”
Lawson said it was a “lifelong dream” to be racing with Red Bull.
“This is something I’ve wanted and worked toward since I was 8 years old,” he said. “It’s been an incredible journey so far.”