Ralf Schumacher raves about 21-year-old F1 driver’s ‘incredible season’ last year

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Former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher has admitted that he was really impressed with Liam Lawson during his cameos for AlphaTauri last season.

The super-quick Kiwi filled in for Daniel Ricciardo after he broke his hand avoiding a collision with Oscar Piastri at Zandvoort.

Speaking on the Formula For Success Podcast, Ralf Schumacher was raving about the 21-year-old.

The situation at AlphaTauri last year was far from ideal but they ended up finishing the season on a high.

Their final upgrades package saw them overtake Williams in terms of pace but they couldn’t score the points needed to leapfrog them in the Constructors’ Championship.

Nyck de Vries failed to score a point during the first 10 races of the year and was dismissed in place of Ricciardo.

The seven-time race winner didn’t blow Yuki Tsunoda away but was a marked improvement before and after his injury.

However, Schumacher wanted to highlight how impressed he was with Liam Lawson during the five races he completed.

He scored two points in Singapore during his first race weekend at the track and looked rapid in qualifying.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t converted into a race seat in 2024, although he’s been tipped to make his way onto the grid next year with a big shake-up of the grid expected in the coming months.

Ralf Schumacher impressed with Lawson last season

Schumacher: “Yeah, I mean Japan is back, I mean look at Liam Lawson, he also did an incredible season for just being put into the car this year, so obviously it’s a good racing over there and a strong car.”

At the end of last season, Lawson was one of several drivers who thought they might have a shot at the Williams seat alongside Alex Albon.

The team hadn’t confirmed anything about the American’s future heading into the finale at Abu Dhabi and Anthony Davidson suggested that the whole paddock thought he would be a great fit for Williams.

However, Lawson was left on the sidelines despite impressing plenty of F1 fans and Ralf Schumacher too.

All eyes will be on the four current drivers in the Red Bull set-up with contracts running down and the constant pressure of Hulmut Marko watching over you.

If any of the quartet slip up – although it’s hard to see Max Verstappen being involved in this conversation – then Lawson might very quickly earn himself a promotion onto the grid.