Liam Lawson has revealed that he found out he was driving in the Qatar Grand Prix this weekend thanks to a surprise FaceTime call from fellow Red Bull employee Daniel Ricciardo.
The 21-year-old starlet was called in to make debut at the Dutch Grand Prix in the summer, replacing Ricciardo after the Aussie broke a bone in his hand after a crash at the Tarzan corner in free practice.
After impressing in treacherous conditions on his debut, Lawson improved again in Monza before turning in one of the performances of the season to claim his first-ever points in F1 at the Singapore Grand Prix, which is notoriously one of the toughest events on the calendar.
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Speaking about the humorous incident, Lawson revealed: “I was sitting at lunch and I had a random number call me and it was a FaceTime. I was really confused because people don’t just FaceTime randomly, so I answered it and it was just Daniel’s face!
“He basically said that he thought he’d let me have another weekend. Obviously good to be back, good to be in the car this weekend. I’m excited.” Despite finding out about his latest F1 outing in an unexpected manner, Lawson is feeling prepared for the opportunity.
“To be honest, after Japan, it was looking more likely that we’d be driving so we just carried on preparing like normal. I didn’t assume I was driving but we prepped like a normal situation like I would be. It’s a bit different.
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“I want to be here full-time but just trying to make the most of this. I think [Austin] is definitely the target. I think that’s more likely. Obviously, I can’t say for certain, but we have over a week to get more time to be ready for it. So, I would say it’s probably Austin.”
After Lawson increased AlphaTauri’s total points tally from three to five in Singapore, Ricciardo will be feeling the pressure when he returns to the cockpit in Texas in two weeks’ time.
The 34-year-old has been handed a one-year contract extension for 2024 as he looks to lead the team into their new era, but with Lawson waiting keenly in the wings for 2025, it looks set to be a make-or-break year for the eight-time Grand Prix winner.
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