Kiwi F1 hopeful makes statement
Liam Lawson is far from a household name in New Zealand but that seems destined to change.
In motorsport circles, the 16-year-old has been considered New Zealand’s next big thing for some time, but even the expectations of his staunchest supporters were overtaken in the opening round of the Castrol Toyota Racing Series (TRS).
Lawson, who isn’t yet old enough to hold a full car license, won his TRS debut on Saturday and achieved a career-best result in the third and final race on Sunday at Highlands Motorsport Park, near Cromwell.
Lawson, of Pukekohe, drove away from the high-quality field – made up of mostly international drivers – in the first race and in the 20-lap final with ease.
Despite this year’s lineup being one of the best assembled, Lawson was head and shoulders above his 14 rivals – all driving identical Toyota-powered Tatuus FT-50 chassis. His winning margins were just over seven and nine seconds, respectively.
‘‘I really can’t believe what happened on the weekend,’’ Lawson told Stuff.
Lawson, who has competed successfully in Australia, Germany, Malaysia and the USA, made attempts to join the TRS last season but was declined because he was under the minimum age of 16.
TRS, now in its 15th year, has 11 graduates who have gone on to race in Formula One or be test drivers for F1 teams and Lawson wants to add his name to the list.
‘‘The ultimate goal is Formula 1 but that’s a long, long, way away.’’
The 2019 TRS is more competitive than previous years due to a new incentive that will see the top five finishers gain points towards a Formula One FIA Super Licence.
Lawson, who finished second in the German Formula 4 Championship last year, said the plan is to get back to Europe following the TRS but nothing is confirmed yet.
‘‘I’d like to be in Formula 3, I’ve been testing there last year so that’s what we’d be hoping to do,’’ Lawson said.
He warmed up for the TRS with a perfect three wins from three starts in the final round of the Asian Formula 3 Championship at Sepang in late November.
A TRS championship on his resume would be a handy bargaining chip but Lawson is not getting carried away heading into this weekend’s second round at Teretonga Park in Invercargill.
A bad weekend could undo the good work of Highlands so Lawson, who has a mature head on young shoulders, is keeping his feet firmly on the ground. ‘‘I’m not expecting to have another weekend like we’ve just had.’’
His goal, like it was at Highlands, will be to run in the top three.