Liam Lawson has the perfect opportunity to build his F1 fanbase after Yuki Tsunoda’s exit

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Coming from New Zealand, Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson is one of several drivers on the grid who doesn’t have a home race this season.

Out of the 22 drivers starting the 2026 F1 season, only Charles Leclerc (Monaco) comes from a country with a smaller population than Liam Lawson.

Not only that, but aside from the season-opening race at the Australian Grand Prix, the F1 calendar isn’t set up to help the Racing Bulls driver bring a large number of New Zealanders to races.

There are plenty of New Zealand expats in the UK, the USA and Canada, but this season might be the perfect time for Lawson to take advantage of a much larger market.

Prove me wrong: Liam Lawson can show he deserves another chance at Red Bull

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Lawson won a head-to-head battle to keep his Racing Bulls seat against Yuki Tsunoda, who will act as Red Bull’s reserve driver this year.

It means for the first time since 2020, there won’t be a Japanese driver on the grid, and while journalist Scott Mitchell-Malm has explained how important this is for F1, it might offer Lawson the chance to become the country’s adopted driver for this season.

READ MORE: All to know about Racing Bulls from team principal to Red Bull affiliation

Formula 1 will miss having a Japanese driver after Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull exit

Mitchell-Malm was speaking about the situation in Japan following the launch of the Honda power unit on The Race F1 Podcast.

He explained: “It was no surprise to hear [Stefano] Domenicali jumping in on the questions about the Japanese driver’s side and the promotion of Japan in Formula 1.

“Big, big emphasis from pretty much everybody who spoke about it, about how just sort of the broad, general F1 excitement levels for this season will be good for Japan.

“But I didn’t feel there was a huge amount of substance to what everybody wanted to kind of get across in terms of what can actually be done in Japan without a driver.

“And I think that’s because the answer is very little. Honda doing well helps, but they’re not a team. They’re much less, a Honda-backed driver. So it’s kind of hard, really, to build that relationship in the same way.

“The Japanese Grand Prix, I’m sure, will be an absolutely awesome event. Again, it always is, but it’s only once over the course of the entire season. So yeah, I think they do need a driver.”

READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Why Liam Lawson is the perfect driver for Japanese Formula 1 fans to back

Although some Japanese fans may believe that Lawson is the reason Tsunoda is no longer on the grid, that anger is much more likely to be pointed at Red Bull.

On top of this, Lawson is one of the only two current drivers who took part in the Super Formula series, which is held in Japan, alongside Pierre Gasly.

Lawson finished second in the series in 2023 to Formula 2 driver Ritomo Miyata, and speaking about racing in the series, via Autosport, he said: “It’s my first time in Japan, my first time in Suzuka, and so far I’m really enjoying it.

“It’s a place I’ve wanted to drive for a long time, since I was a kid. It was a really cool experience to finally drive here.

“Through sector one, the Esses, there’s basically no braking, and you’re just carrying lots of speed, like 200km/h plus, with lots of G-force. My neck is definitely very sore right now!

“This is probably the best thing about Suzuka, and the Super Formula car is very good in high-speed corners, so when you put those things together, it makes it really exciting to drive.”

Lawson’s first F1 outing at Suzuka saw him finish P11, ahead of then-teammate Tsunoda, as he discovered he wouldn’t be retained for 2024, with Daniel Ricciardo returning to re-take his seat.

He struggled in 2025 as he got used to a brand new car following his Red Bull demotion, but if he can get the Japanese fans onboard, then Lawson will have an even larger fanbase that can follow him around the world.