Lawson to drive Red Bull F1 car at Bathurst

New Zealand rising star Liam Lawson will lead Oracle Red Bull Racing's highly anticipated demonstration sessions at the upcoming LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour.

The 20-year-old, a Red Bull Junior Driver, will drive the 2011 Red Bull RB7 Formula 1 Car in demonstration sessions across the weekend.

Lawson is well credentialed to drive a Red Bull Formula 1 car, having proven himself among the current crop of F1 talent in several outings last year.

He completed Friday practice sessions for Alpha Tauri at last year's Belgian and Mexican Grands Prix, before jumping into the Oracle Red Bull Racing car for FP1 at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

He has also logged significant miles in current F1 machinery in post-season testing, and F1 young driver tests, over the last two years.

Lawson has been backed by Red Bull for much of his junior career, with his Bathurst visit representing something of a homecoming for the now well-travelled young star.

Lawson raced in New Zealand and then Australia as a teenager before moving overseas to tackle the pathway to Formula 1.

He finished second in the 2019 Euroformula Open Championship, won the 2019 Toyota Racing Series and finished 5th in the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship.

In 2021 Lawson moved to FIA Formula 2, the final step on the ladder before Formula 1, finishing 9th in the championship in his rookie season.

He was then a title contender for much of the 2022 campaign, winning four races en-route to third in the championship.

At the same time, he raced a Ferrari in the 2022 DTM Championship for Alpha Tauri, finishing second.

In 2023 Lawson will move to Japan to contest the Super Formula Championship with Team Mugen.

"I'm super excited! I've never been to Bathurst before so it'll be a first for me,” Lawson said.

"It's a track that I've done a lot in sim racing and iRacing.

"Being from New Zealand, Supercars is a massive series and I've grown up watching it, especially the Bathurst 1000. It's always been one of the biggest events that I've known.

"I'm excited to finally tackle the Mountain and in that car as well - in the RB7 - which I have had the privilege of driving once and it was one of the coolest experiences of my life.

"I'm really excited to have that opportunity again at such a unique place, and to see the fans' reaction to the car because I think it will be quite cool."

Oracle Red Bull Racing's LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour appearance will culminate in a demonstration session to be run between the first two parts of Bathurst 12 Hour qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

That session will be broadcast live in Australia on Fox Sports, the Seven Network, Sky Sports New Zealand and around the world via live streaming.

The LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

Tickets for the 2023 LIQUI MOLY Bathurst 12 Hour are on sale now on Ticketek.com.