Red Bull confirm Lawson to partner Verstappen in 2025

One day after the official announcement that Perez will not be a Red Bull Racing driver in 2025, the team confirmed that Lawson who was driving for their junior team, RB, will replace the Mexican.

Oracle Red Bull Racing is pleased to announce that Liam Lawson will complete the Team's driver line-up for the 2025 FIA Formula One World Championship, moving across from Visa Cash App Racing Bulls to partner four-time World Champion Max Verstappen.

New Zealand native Liam joined the Red Bull Junior Programme in 2019 and after multiple junior formula successes made his Formula One debut with Scuderia AlphaTauri at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, in place of the injured Daniel Ricciardo. He scored his first championship points in just his second outing at the Singapore GP and completed five races in all for the team. After taking up his Reserve Driver role with both teams at the start of 2024, Liam returned to Grand Prix racing with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls with a points-scoring finish at this year's United States Grand Prix. Now, after completing the season with VCARB the 22-year-old takes the next step in his career with a seat at Oracle Red Bull Racing.

Liam Lawson, Oracle Red Bull Racing driver, said: "To be announced as an Oracle Red Bull Racing Driver is a lifelong dream for me, this is something I've wanted and worked towards since I was eight years old. It's been an incredible journey so far. I want to say a massive thank you to the whole team at VCARB for their support, the last six races have played a huge part in my preparation for this next step. I also want to thank, Christian, Helmut and the whole Red Bull family for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I am super excited to work alongside Max and learn from a World Champion, I have no doubt I will learn from his expertise. I can't wait to get going!"

Christian Horner, Team Principal and CEO of Oracle Red Bull Racing, said: "I'm delighted to announce that Liam Lawson will join the Team in 2025. Liam's performances over the course of his two stints with Visa Cash App Racing Bulls have demonstrated that he's not only capable of delivering strong results but that he's also a real racer, not afraid to mix it with the best and come out on top. His arrival continues the Team's long history of promoting from within the Red Bull Junior Programme and he follows in the footsteps of championship and race-winning drivers such as Sebastian Vettel and of course, Max Verstappen. 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, but I'm sure Liam can rise to that challenge and deliver some outstanding results for us next year."

We can confirm that Liam is flying the nest to join Oracle Red Bull Racing for the 2025 season. As much as we are sad to see him go, this is an exciting next step in his career and a thoroughly well-deserved promotion.

Liam has truly impressed with is performances, showcasing his resilience, adaptability, and growing confidence as he navigated the challenges of a highly competitive grid. In Austin, he showed great race craft to secure some important first points, while his drive in Brazil highlighted just how much he's developed as a driver.

Laurent Mekies, Visa Cash App RB Team Principal, said: A huge congratulations to Liam! Every one at VCARB is very proud to see Liam being promoted to Oracle Red Bull Racing.

Of course, we would have like to keep him a little longer, but one of our main missions here at VCAR is to be an incubator for talents for the wider Red Bull family, and seeing Liam taking the step up is a testimony of the great work he and the team have done this year.

We wish him all the best of luck, he's going to be mega, and we can't wait to see him on track in 2025.