Lawson targets points as he marks one year on the F1 grid

The United States Grand Prix marks one year since Liam Lawson joined the full-time Formula 1 ranks with Racing Bulls, and the Kiwi has set his sights on celebrating the milestone with a return to the points.

Making a name for himself as the rookie driver to replace Daniel Ricciardo not once, but twice during his time as a sideline character in the Red Bull family, Lawson’s goal of securing a full-time seat in F1 was achieved in the late hours that followed the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.

The frantic nature of Lawson’s permanent debut set the tone for the year that followed, with his promotion to Red Bull Racing lasting just two races before he found himself back at the development team alongside fellow rookie Isack Hadjar. 

The #30 described his first year in the sport as “crazy”, although the 23-year-old admitted he hasn’t quite had time to reflect on the highs and lows of the past 12 months.

“It’s hard to reflect on it, honestly, and I think it’s not something I’ve really had the time to properly reflect on — maybe I will at the end of the year,” Lawson said.

“But, I think the sport moves so fast, to be honest, that you just roll with it.

“And I think, at this point now, I couldn’t even remember everything that’s happened in detail, I’d have to, like, actually go over it, so, I think, just happy to be here.”

The Kiwi added: “You can always reflect on a season — on anything, honestly — and hindsight’s great.

“You can look at things, and for sure, there will be a lot that I learn from this year, but I think it’s been, overall… especially the second half, it’s been quite strong.

“Obviously, we had a tough weekend in Singapore, but, you know, outside of that, across the board, it’s been quite good recently.

“Cars been very fast, we’ve made changes, sort of, midway through the season that helped me get a lot more comfortable as well, so it’s been good.”

Wanting to ring in the milestone in style, the Circuit of The Americas is the perfect destination for Lawson to make a return to the points-finishing positions, with his last top-ten result taking us back to Round 17 in Baku, where the Racing Bulls driver achieved a career-best P5 finish.

Based on Racing Bulls’ recent USGP history, and with this weekend’s Sprint format providing two separate opportunities to score in Austin, achieving the Kiwi’s self-proclaimed “main target” looks well within reach.

In 2024, the Kiwi claimed a standout ninth in the main event, picking up two points in the Grand Prix after making headlines for his tense Sprint tussle with Fernando Alonso just 24 hours prior.

This weekend, a similar result is in line with RB’s current expectation. 

“I think [the car will be good around COTA], we think it should be,” Lawson said.

“It was good here last year, we found some big steps during the weekend last year, and then this year, we’ve just found a lot more, so.

“Obviously, everyone else has as well, so we don’t know how we stack up, but we think it should suit our car.”

The #30 added: “We’re trying to score points this weekend, and that’s what the main target this weekend is.

“So yeah, that’s what we’re… It’s very, very close at the moment, so we need to extract everything that we can, but points are the target.”

The United States Grand Prix marks the fourth Sprint weekend of the season, with the top eight finishers set to earn additional points ranging from eight to one in Saturday’s Sprint.

Adding to the challenge, the FIA has also declared the USGP a Heat Hazard — only the second since the rule’s Singapore debut — as temperatures are set to soar up to 34°C during the Sprint.

Lawson and his rivals will first complete a single hour of practice around the 5.5km Circuit of The Americas, beginning at 04:30 AEST on Saturday, before the competitive sessions commence on Day 1 in Austin, Texas.

Image: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool.

2025 United States Grand Prix Schedule (AEST):

Saturday, October 18th:

Free Practice: 04:30 – 05:30

Sprint Qualifying: 08:30 – 09:14

Sunday, October 19th:

Sprint Race: 04:00 – 04:30

Qualifying: 08:00 – 09:00

Monday, October 20th:

Race: 06:00 – 08:00

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