News
Lawson moves to Carlin for the 2022 campaign
New Zealander Liam Lawson will swap Hitech Grand Prix for Carlin in 2022, with the Red Bull junior joining Williams Academy driver Logan Sargeant at the Surrey-based outfit.
Lawson - who drove for the Alpha Tauri Formula 1 team at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Young Driver test – made his first appearance for Carlin at the Formula 2 post-season tests, finishing four of the six sessions in the top 10.
He joins Carlin on the back of a successful rookie season in F2, which saw him win the opening race and take a further two podiums to finish ninth. He dovetailed his F2 season with a title-challenging campaign in DTM, where he finished as runner-up.
“I'm super excited for the new opportunity this year," said Lawson. "The pre-season test went really, really well. It was a completely different experience to what I've been used to. The whole team is really focused on the right things and all super motivated going into the season.
"The second year is always a good step having done a year and learnt a lot, so to take all of that into a new team is a great way to start."
The 19-year-old has four years of European single-seater racing under his belt, making the move from New Zealand in 2018, where he had won the 2017 NZ F1600 Championship title.
Finishing the year as vice-champion in ADAC F4, Lawson made the jump into Formula 3 with MP Motorsport and took two podiums in his maiden campaign. In the same year, Lawson finished second in Euroformula Open, with four wins, and won the Toyota Racing Series, with five wins and 11 podiums.
Switching to Hitech for his sophomore season in F3, Lawson won three times and notched six podiums, as he finished fifth.
Carlin Team Manager Trevor Carlin added: “We’re really excited to have Liam join the team. He is a great talent and we’ve watched him with interest over the last few seasons. We’re very proud and thankful that Red Bull and Rodin have entrusted us with this next stage in Liam’s career.
“Liam did a great job in the post-season official tests in Abu Dhabi and slotted straight into the team. I expect him to be a championship contender this year.”