D'Arcy Waldegrave on Liam Lawson's F1 opportunity and what lead him to this moment - The All Sport Breakfast

In what will be my last structured rant of 2024, I'll finish on a high. That high is Liam Lawson.

He is following in the footsteps of NZ F1 greats such as Hulme, McLaren and Amon. He is the 10th Kiwi to breathe the rarefied air of Formula 1 and this week he inhaled the deepest breath of all.

The news on Thursday night that the young man raised in Pukekohe had secured a Red Bull contract for 2025, racing for one of the best teams in Formula One, is still sinking in.

After many years of battling through the categories on his way to the Everest of the sport, life just got a whole lot tougher.

From karts to Formula First, through the Toyota Racing Series, Formula 3, the DTM and Formula 2 and some tantalising tastes of Formula 1 through the Racing Bulls team, this hot shoe has steadfastly kept his eyes locked on the prize. Now, after a drawn out

and at times frustrating final run at a permanent seat, he's struck gold. Liam Lawson has arrived.

He's ruffled feathers along the way, proving to many that his attitude and race craft is that of a Formula 1 pilot. Accusations of a lack of respect for the veterans of the sport have been met with measured aggression, a refusal to acquiesce to the insanity of an

experience based hierarchy. He races with his elbows out, knowing that respect