Liam Lawson has talent to boot and is not waiting around for teams to come knocking on his door.
Having won the 2016/17 NZ Formula 1600 Championship, at the age of 15-years-old, the Pukekohe teenager then headed to Australia to compete in the CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 Championship where he finished runner up.
Looking for something to do over the NZ summer and too young to compete in the 2018 Toyota Racing Series, he was one of two to win the CareVets TR86 Scholarship. However, his support team decided not to go in the ‘tin-top’ direction and kept trying to get a drive for Liam in the NZ Grand Prix, the final round of the TRS. Still no compensation was forth coming as he turned 16-years-old on the day of the GP so technically he was underage for testing, practice and qualifying.
Now he is heading to Europe to compete in the ADAC German Formula 4 Championship with the top European team Van Amersfoort Racing. He tested with the team earlier in this year. This is a great move and will be a real test for Lawson. There is a good argument that the level of competition in previous single seater competitions (F1600 and Australian F4) was not at a high level with only a few competitors of equal ability. Europe will be a good ‘litmus’ test for him and a great experience for him to gain from.
Whatever is the outcome of his European campaign, he must come back to compete in the 2019 Toyota Racing Series. This is the real litmus test for all Kiwi drivers and an important series to garner support from local fans, family and financial backers.
There are several young drivers to keep an eye on over the next few years. Conrad Clark has jumped from a rookie season in Formula First straight over to competing in the 2018 US Formula 4 Championship, by-passing a domestic season in F1600. The other is the talented Callum Hedge who won this season’s F1600 national title.
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