AlphaTauri has announced on its social networks that Liam Lawson will make his debut in an official Formula 1 session at the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend at Spa. The New Zealand driver will take to the track in the first free practice session of the weekend, aboard Pierre Gasly’s single-seater.
“I can’t think of any better circuit than Spa to make my F1 debut,” the young driver said in a video released by the team itself. “It’s a track that I’ve always enjoyed, and doing it in a Formula 1 car is going to be amazing.”
As is customary in the modern age of the Big Circus, Lawson has been preparing “all this year” in the simulator. However, it will not be his first time aboard a car with these characteristics, as he was able to take part in the 2021 post-season tests at Yas Marina.
The 20-year-old Kiwi driver is currently in his second season in Formula 2 with the Carlin team, so this weekend he will have to combine his participation in both categories.
In 2021 he did not obtain excessively striking results, finishing as ninth in the general classification, three podiums and one victory. That year he combined the single-seaters with the DTM, where he won the runner-up position.
2022 seems to be a better campaign for him, with two wins and five podium finishes. Currently, he is eighth in the general classification.
Liam Lawson will enjoy this opportunity thanks to being part of the Red Bull program for young drivers; a program through which great names of Formula 1 such as Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz or Pierre Gasly himself passed.
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