Liam Lawson is on the verge of Formula 1 stardom. The 22-year-old Kiwi has already demonstrated his ability at the highest level, filling in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo at Alpha Tauri in five grand prix in 2023.
He’s now biding his time as reserve driver for Red Bull Racing and the RB team, and is tipped for a promotion by the 2025 season (at the latest). Despite his youth Lawson has already experienced a diverse range of cars, from F1 to Japan’s Super Formula as well as Formula 2, GT3 and more.
He spent last weekend at the Adelaide Motorsport Festival driving the Ford SuperVan 4.2, which is where Torquecafe caught up with him to find out what he’d put in his Dream Garage.
READ MORE: Riding in the Ford SuperVan with an F1 ace
Daily driver: Porsche 911 GT3 Touring
“It’s maybe not super practical, but I would daily that,” Lawson says, of Porsche’s subtle but track-ready sports car.
The GT3 Touring packs the same 375kW punch from the same 4.0-litre flat-six petrol engine as the ‘regular’ GT3, but gets a much more subtle look. The Touring Package deletes the huge, racing-style rear wing and instead relies on a subtle extendable rear spoiler for downforce when needed. The front end has the same aerodynamic treatment, but for a more subtle appearance the air-intakes are painted in body-colour instead of the black on the other GT3.
Something special: Ford F-150 Raptor R
Ford has partnered with Red Bull Powertrains for the 2026 regulation change, but even though the two companies won’t hit the F1 track together until then, Lawson has already begun working with the blue oval in promotional events (such as the SuperVan).
This has exposed the Kiwi to the American world of high-performance pickup trucks, like Ford’s awesome, off-road chewing F-150 Raptor R. Powered by a 537kW 5.2-litre supercharged V8 it’s the most powerful pickup in the world and it’s fitted with Baja-tested suspension for off-road ability.
Perfect for Lawson’s weekend adventures.
“So I recently spent a bit more time in America. And something that we don’t really have here, but they have a lot of, is trucks – like Raptors,” he says. “So I would say [something for] weekend fun would probably be like a Raptor R.
“Like tricked out that I could basically go and send through the desert, that’d be really cool.”
Track Toy: Red Bull Racing RB8
For the final member of his garage Lawson opts for something near and dear to his heart – the Red Bull Racing RB8 – the same car he drove around Bathurst’s Mt Panorama in 2023, in spectacular display.
“If it’s something that I want to race, something I want to be on track with, it doesn’t get faster than that,” he says. “So yeah, it’d be the RB8 2012 Formula 1 car, I like that era of Formula 1.”
It’s not a surprising choice, Lawson was just 10-years-old when the RB8 was raced by Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, and people tend to be drawn to the F1 cars of their youth. It probably helps it was successful too, taking Vettel to his third world title.
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