Lawson Eyes Tough Red Bull Debut in Melbourne

Liam Lawson faces a “really challenging” start with Red Bull, as he kicks off his F1 debut on Melbourne’s tricky circuit.

In addition to his personal goals for success with Red Bull Racing, Liam Lawson stated that his “dream” in Formula 1 would be to have a home race in New Zealand.

The 2025 season will start as close as possible geographically to a “home” race for Lawson when Formula 1 heads to Melbourne in March, but he has never driven on the Albert Park circuit.

No circuit in New Zealand currently holds the FIA Grade 1 certification required to host a Grand Prix, although several circuits in the country hold Grade 3 status, capable of hosting F1 demonstration or test runs.

For the foreseeable future, Lawson will require his fans to travel from New Zealand to Australia to watch him race in Formula 1, with his debut as a Red Bull driver taking place in Melbourne.

Though he embraces the challenge, he admitted it will be a “really, really difficult” weekend, with limited practice to get up to speed.

“It’s exciting, especially with Melbourne leading the calendar,” said Lawson while attending the Formula Regional Oceania Championship.

“I would love to have a race in New Zealand—that’s the dream one day—but Melbourne is the closest thing to it.”

“So yes, it’s exciting, but it’s a circuit I’ve never driven on, and it’s going to be really, really difficult. You know, we have three practice sessions, and to try to make the most of them, we don’t do much pre-season testing. In fact, we only do one test, which everyone does together.”

“It’s going to be tough, but I’m just excited. Now that I have this opportunity with Red Bull, it’s up to me to make the most of it and deliver.”