Liam Lawson is the 24-year-old New Zealand racing driver whose 2026 season turned a career that had stalled into one of the stories of the year. Demoted by Red Bull after just two races in 2025, he rebuilt his reputation at Racing Bulls, scoring points in 15 of 20 Grands Prix and finishing ninth in the championship, and on 12 November 2026 the team confirmed he will stay for 2027 alongside team-mate Arvid Lindblad.
Born in Hastings and raised in Pukekohe, Lawson’s parents sold their house to fund his racing, and he repaid that faith with titles in New Zealand Formula Ford and the Toyota Racing Series before climbing through Formula 3, Formula 2, DTM and Super Formula. This biography covers his age, height, career, girlfriend, salary, net worth and the 2027 deal.
| Full Name | Liam Jared Lawson |
| Date of Birth | 11 February 2002 |
| Age | 24 years old (as of November 2026) |
| Height | 5 feet 8 inches (174 cm) |
| Birthplace | Hastings, New Zealand |
| Nationality | New Zealander |
| Occupation | Formula 1 racing driver |
| Team | Racing Bulls (car number 30) |
| Known For | 2026 Racing Bulls revival; 2025 Red Bull promotion and demotion; DTM runner-up 2021 |
| Girlfriend | Hannah St John (reportedly dating since October 2022) |
| Net Worth 2026 | Estimated $1.5–2 million (media estimates) — see Net Worth section below |
Early Life
Liam Jared Lawson was born on 11 February 2002 in Hastings, New Zealand, and raised in Pukekohe, home of the Pukekohe Park Raceway in the Auckland region. He began competitive kart racing at the age of six and won two karting titles in 2014. His family backed his talent with everything they had: his parents sold their house to fund his racing career, a sacrifice Lawson has spoken about often. He is mentored by Ken Smith, a three-time New Zealand Grand Prix winner, and he has raced with the number 30 since the age of eight, in honour of his karting mentor. Away from racing he plays the guitar and has recorded music.
His rise through the junior ranks was rapid. In 2016–17 he won the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship as a privateer, winning 14 of the 15 races to become the youngest Formula Ford champion in the world at the time. He finished runner-up in Australian Formula 4 in 2017 with five wins, runner-up again in ADAC Formula 4 in 2018 with three wins and three pole positions, and then won the 2019 Toyota Racing Series with M2 Competition, beating fellow New Zealander Marcus Armstrong over a season-long battle. The same year he finished runner-up in the Euroformula Open Championship and won its rookies’ title.
Junior Career
Lawson reached FIA Formula 3 in 2019 with MP Motorsport, finishing eleventh with two podiums, and improved to fifth in 2020 with Hitech, taking three wins and six podiums. He moved to FIA Formula 2 in 2021 and won his very first race, the Bahrain sprint, on debut, ending his rookie season ninth with 103 points. In 2022 he finished third in the championship with Carlin.
Alongside his single-seater career he raced in the German touring car series, the DTM, in 2021, driving a Red Bull-backed Ferrari for AF Corse with Alex Albon as his team-mate. He won on his debut at Monza to become the youngest race winner in DTM history, and went into the final race leading the championship before a controversial opening-lap collision at the Norisring cost him the title to Maximilian Götz. He finished the season as runner-up.
In 2023 he left Formula 2 for Japan’s Super Formula Championship with Team Mugen, where he again finished runner-up, this time to Ritomo Miyata, with three wins, one pole position and 106.5 points. He had joined the Red Bull Junior Team in 2019, on his seventeenth birthday, and served as reserve driver for Red Bull and AlphaTauri from 2022 to 2024 while he waited for a race seat.
Formula One Career
Lawson’s chance finally came at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, when he replaced an injured Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri for five races. He finished thirteenth on debut, ahead of team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, eleventh at Monza, and scored his first Formula 1 points with ninth place in Singapore, outqualifying Tsunoda in the process. Despite impressing, Red Bull kept Ricciardo and Tsunoda for 2024, and Lawson spent the year on the sidelines again.
When Ricciardo was dropped after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix, Lawson took his seat at Racing Bulls for the final six rounds. On his return at the United States Grand Prix he started nineteenth because of engine penalties and fought back to ninth. In Brazil he qualified a career-best fifth in the rain and finished ninth again. He ended the season 21st in the standings with four points, and his reward was a promotion to Red Bull Racing for 2025, replacing Sergio Pérez alongside four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
The promotion lasted two races. Lawson crashed out of the season-opening Australian Grand Prix after qualifying eighteenth, and finished twelfth in China. Before the Japanese Grand Prix, Red Bull sent him back to Racing Bulls and promoted Yuki Tsunoda in his place. Team adviser Helmut Marko later admitted Red Bull had made a mistake in promoting Lawson after only 11 Grands Prix, saying he had lost confidence and could not show his real potential. Lawson rebuilt at Racing Bulls with Isack Hadjar as his team-mate, finishing the 2025 season fourteenth with 38 points and a career-best fifth place in Azerbaijan, where he had qualified third.
The 2026 season was his redemption. Partnered by rookie Arvid Lindblad, Lawson scored eight points in China with seventh place in both the sprint and the main race, then added ninth in Japan, seventh in Canada, sixth in Monaco, eighth in Barcelona, ninth in Austria, sixth at Silverstone and eighth in Hungary. When Hadjar broke his wrist during the summer break, Lawson was called back to Red Bull for three races, finishing seventh at Zandvoort and sixth in Madrid for a 14-point haul. Returning to Racing Bulls, he added seventh places in Bahrain, Singapore and Mexico, the last despite starting from the pit lane, and ninth in the United States. After 20 races he sat ninth in the drivers’ championship on 89 points, 75 of them for Racing Bulls, with points in 15 of 20 Grands Prix, making him the top-scoring driver from a midfield team and putting him among the most talked-about young drivers on the grid alongside the likes of McLaren’s Lando Norris. Racing Bulls sat fifth in the constructors’ championship, its best-ever position. On 12 November 2026, the team confirmed Lawson will continue alongside Lindblad in 2027.
Personal Life
Lawson is reported to have been in a relationship with Hannah St John since October 2022. St John is a Californian who studied biological and biomedical sciences at Arizona State University with the aim of becoming a Physician Assistant, according to F1 Oversteer. Lawson keeps his private life largely out of the spotlight, and the couple rarely appear together publicly.
He remains close to his family in New Zealand, whose sacrifice in selling their home launched his career, and to his mentor Ken Smith, who guided him from karting onwards. His journey has made him one of New Zealand’s most prominent sporting figures, and his 2026 revival drew public backing from senior paddock figures, including former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner, who said it would be surprising if Racing Bulls did not re-sign him.
Liam Lawson Net Worth 2026
Liam Lawson’s net worth has not been officially disclosed, and published figures are estimates. Sports and entertainment profiles put it at roughly $1.5 million to $2 million as of 2026, a modest figure by Formula 1 standards that reflects how recently he became a full-time driver. His salary is reported to be in the region of $800,000 to $1 million per year, according to Formula 1 News, though teams do not publicly disclose driver pay, so that figure should be treated as a paddock estimate rather than fact.
His income comes from his Racing Bulls contract, performance-related bonuses and personal sponsorships, including long-standing New Zealand backers such as Rodin Cars and the Giltrap Group. Lawson himself once joked in 2021 that his net worth was “a big fat zero” because he had not earned any money in his whole career, a reminder of how much of his early racing was funded by his family. A confirmed seat for 2027, and a season as the best of the midfield, put his earning power on a steep upward path.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Liam Lawson?
Liam Lawson is 24 years old. He was born on 11 February 2002 in Hastings, New Zealand. He made his Formula 1 debut aged 21 at the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix.
How tall is Liam Lawson?
Liam Lawson is listed at 174 cm, or 5 feet 8 inches, by RacingNews365 and F1 Oversteer. Some profiles give different figures, from 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches, so his exact height varies by source.
Who is Liam Lawson’s girlfriend?
Liam Lawson is reported to be in a relationship with Hannah St John, a Californian who studied biological and biomedical sciences at Arizona State University. The pair have reportedly been dating since October 2022, according to F1 Oversteer.
What is Liam Lawson’s net worth in 2026?
His net worth has not been officially disclosed. Media estimates put it at roughly $1.5 million to $2 million as of 2026.
What is Liam Lawson’s salary?
Formula 1 teams do not disclose driver salaries. Paddock estimates reported by Formula 1 News put Lawson’s Racing Bulls salary at around $800,000 to $1 million per year, plus performance bonuses and sponsorship income.
Will Liam Lawson race in F1 in 2027?
Yes. On 12 November 2026, Racing Bulls confirmed that Lawson will continue with the team for the 2027 Formula 1 season alongside team-mate Arvid Lindblad, in an unchanged driver line-up.
