For the 2025 Formula One season, Red Bull Racing has parted ways with Sergio Perez after four years together. Although Max Verstappen tried to be a one-man army this season, he couldn’t win the constructor’s title. As such, the choice was between VCarb duo, Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson, and the latter was the one to earn the promotion.

In a recent conversation, the New Zealand native spoke about his emotions when the news broke. Of course, he was thrilled to finally get rewarded for his efforts and is eager to race alongside Verstappen. Naturally, his family was among the first to find out, and the very first person he told, was his father.

Liam Lawson spoke about breaking the Red Bull news to his dad

Admittedly, the 22-year-old avoided telling him directly. Instead, dropping a few hints before his father put all the puzzle pieces together. From that point onwards, the proud father could not help himself and he got very emotional.

Lawson told the Pitstop podcast, “He was the first person I told. It was funny, because I called him and I didn’t just want to tell him. I wanted to make him try and guess, and I never FaceTime. Already, I could see when he answered the FaceTime, he was like ‘What’s going on?’ I just told him I’m planning my January calendar at the moment. I’ll be obviously coming home and then I’m actually not going to go to Imola anymore. I got to go to Silverstone for a test.” The 22-year-old was referring to the fact that the VCarb factory is based in Faenza, which is close to Imola. Meanwhile, the Red Bull Racing factory is located in Silverstone, in the UK. That hint was enough for Papa Lawson to put two and two together and reach the conclusion that his son was hoping for.

The Lawson family have been through their fair share of hardships to make it here. Lawson mentioned in an interview in September that his parents sold their house so he could pursue racing. It was an emotional moment for his father when his son secured the Red Bull seat, Lawson recalled the moments he shared on FaceTime with his old man. “He was like, ‘What are you saying?’ I could see in his eyes, basically I got the seat. For two minutes, it was really minimal reaction. He was just like, ‘Are you serious?’ and I could see he couldn’t believe it. Two minutes later, he just started crying like it just hit him, like it did to me, to be honest. Obviously, he knows the work, started with us when I was very young, I was 6-7 years old. It’s pretty cool.”

Liam Lawson spoke about the impact his father had on his life in an interview on Oracle Red Bull Racing’s YouTube channel. “He always made me believe that I could achieve anything if I worked hard enough for it. Seeing him get emotional about this news was really special – it’s something I’ve never seen before.” His father can certainly be proud of what his son has accomplished over the years, with 2025 set to be the biggest season of his young career.

The Kiwi driver has a bigger mountain to climb in 2025

Truthfully speaking, getting the Red Bull seat is the easy part. What comes next is actually keeping said Red Bull’s seat permanently. When up against a driver of Max Verstappen’s caliber, very few can last long, alongside him. Just ask Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon, who barely lasted a full season.

Red Bull and Toro Rosso/VCarb/AlphaTauri/whatever they’re calling themselves now, are experts at F1 musical chairs. Gasly and Albon know this, as do Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat, and Nyck de Vries. The driver roulette has been ongoing for a while and Perez is the latest victim, although he might be the most justifiable removal. It is a miracle that Sergio Perez lasted for four full years, though he definitely has tried the team’s patience in his final year, with some dismal results, finishing 8th in the drivers’ championship, 285 points behind Verstappen.

Even Daniel Ricciardo lasted for three years alongside Verstappen, and he was likely the most competent. In other words, Liam Lawson has his work cut out for him. What makes his situation tricky is that he will have to perform consistently in 2025. Even if he does not beat Verstappen, he should be at least close to him in terms of pace. If he fails to deliver, then the ruthless machine that is Red Bull could look towards his 2024 teammate, Yuki Tsunoda.