Liam Lawson, an F2 driver and part of the Red Bull Racing Junior Academy, will soon be competing in Japan’s Super Formula series in 2023. This might come as a slight surprise to F1 fans as the youngster was doing quite well in F2 and could’ ve been one of the prime candidates to join an F1 team.
He broke the news about moving to Japan’s Super Formula series through an Instagram post. He was seen driving a Mugen Racing team car around the Suzuka International Circuit. He whole-heartedly thanked the team for the opportunity to drive in the racing series. Hey wrote:
“This car around this track.. one of the best experiences I’ve had in a race car! Thank you @team_mugen.official.”
The 20-year-old has had a great racing career, finishing in third place in the 2022 F2 championship and also participating in various other racing series. Since Liam Lawson is one of the top young drivers in the Red Bull Racing junior team, he has also driven for the Milton Keynes-based team during practice and testing sessions.
He was recently seen participating in postseason tire testing sessions in Abu Dhabi, where he drove the Red Bull and AlphaTauri cars.
Although the F1 feeder series is extremely important for young drivers to prepare for the F1, this segway to the Super Formula series is also beneficial for gaining experience in driving different open-wheel cars. Pierre Gasly, a former Red Bull junior driver currently driving for Alpine, also competed in the Super Formula series back in 2017, where he came quite close to winning the championship.
F1’s cost-cap penalty on Red Bull a heavy punishment, says Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen expressed his thoughts on the harsh penalty imposed on his team after they went over the budget in the 2021 F1 season. As the FIA investigated the situation, the overspending was revealed and the team was penalized.
@RedBull chief technical officer #AdrianNewey believes the team’s @FIA penalty will hurt Max Verstappen’s title chances in 2023.
During an exclusive interview with RacingNews365, Verstappen spoke about how the punishment affected the team. Due to overspending during the 2021 F1 season, the team will be punished in the 2023 season with reduced wind tunnel time and a hefty fine. Hence, the Dutchman is slightly worried about next season and how other teams will take advantage of this. Hey said:
“Probably everyone is more motivated because of this. I personally think it is a heavy punishment for what we have done, but yes, what can we do about it? It happened and we will see next year what effect it really has had on us .”
Along with Red Bull, Aston Martin also overspent on their car’s performance during the 2021 F1 season. However, they were not penalized as heavily as Red Bull, since their cost-cap breach was only procedural.
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Edited by Nicolaas Ackerman
