Liam Lawson signs with Red Bull aged 17

Liam Lawson leads the field. PHOTO: Toyota Racing Series.

Liam Lawson lives life in the fast lane and he is speeding up.
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Lawson has won a contract with the Red Bull Junior Team.

He signed on with Red Bull on his 17th birthday but was unable to announce the news for several days.

"It is huge. I've dreamed of this since I was a kid. Out of all the Formula One teams, I've always loved Red Bull," Lawson told TVNZ.

He will be mentored by former Kiwi F1 driver Brendon Hartley who spent 2018 driving for Red Bull's development team Toro Rosso.    

The former Pukekohe High School student will be based in Europe and race in the Formula European Masters series.

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Signing with Red Bull means Lawson will spend time with F1 drivers Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly. He is one of nine drivers to sign on with the Red Bull Junior Team.
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He recently won the Castrol Toyota Racing Series (TRS) and the New Zealand Grand Prix at Manfeild.

Two years ago. Lawson won the New Zealand F1600 Championship, making him globally the youngest ever Formula Ford champion. Lawson dominated the NZ F1600 season, winning pole at every round and taking victory in 14 of the 15 championship races. He finished second in the other. He won the title on his 15th birthday.

He stepped up from karting with a string of race, event and championship wins to his name and moved into Formula First in 2015 then to winning pace in Formula Ford a year later.

Lawson attended Pukekohe High School from 2015-17, before leaving school to pick up a contract with an overseas team racing in Europe. He finished second in the German Formula 4 Championship in 2018.