Lawson and the strange twist of fate bringing him back to Zandvoort

Shortly ago, Racing Bulls confirmed that the Kiwi driver will replace Hadjar at Red Bull for the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix, the final race at Zandvoort before the circuit drops off the calendar from next season.

The move also brings back a familiar pairing for the Milton Keynes-based outfit. Lawson and Verstappen have already raced alongside each other, although only for two Grands Prix, before Lawson was demoted following the opening rounds in Australia and China and returned to Racing Bulls.

It was at the same Dutch circuit three years ago that Lawson's Formula 1 career began. During FP2, Daniel Ricciardo suffered a fractured metacarpal in his left hand, forcing him to miss the remainder of the weekend as well as several subsequent races.

The opportunity was handed to the young New Zealander, who took full advantage of it to showcase his ability and held his own against the far more experienced Yuki Tsunoda.

Speaking on F1: Off The Grid podcast, Lawson recently reflected on how his first Formula 1 opportunity came about following Ricciardo's injury. He travelled to Zandvoort determined to find out what Helmut Marko had in mind. He confronted the Red Bull advisor and questioned why he was not being given an opportunity after five years in the team's junior programme and the investment Red Bull had made in his career.

The conversation did not initially go his way, with Marko eventually shutting him down and leaving Lawson feeling that his chances of getting the seat were slim.

However, the situation soon changed. Marko later called Lawson into his office and simply asked whether he was ready. The New Zealander said he was, and within moments he had been handed the opportunity to make his Formula 1 debut: “It wasn’t just a straight cut: ‘Liam’s going to be in the car'. It was: ‘Who else can we get in who’s potentially had experience, who’s driven the car?’ I went to Helmut, and I just walked in there and he looked at me and he goes, ‘Are you ready?’ I said: ‘Yep’. And that was the whole conversation.”

After handing the car back to the Australian later in the season, the New Zealander was given another major opportunity the following year after the Singapore Grand Prix, permanently taking over Ricciardo's seat as the Australian brought his F1 career to an end before even completing the season.

A pair of ninth-place finishes in Austin and Interlagos, combined with the strong impression he had made the previous season, proved enough to convince Red Bull to back him for 2025, replacing the outgoing Sergio Perez.

However, his start to the season proved disastrous. Lawson was consistently relegated to the very back of the field, prompting the team to make the tough call to replace him after just two races, with Tsunoda taking his place in yet another Red Bull driver reshuffle.

Now, Lawson finds himself facing the third major opportunity of his career, albeit only on a temporary basis. What makes the story even more remarkable is that it comes at the very circuit where it all began, and where he was first given the chance to truly showcase his potential.