Liam Lawson makes history with victory in Super Formula debut

Liam Lawson has made history with victory on debut as the 2023 Super Formula season began in Fuji.

The Kiwi started third on the grid and breezed past Toshiki Oyu at the early restart before beating polesitter and teammate Tomoki Nojiri on strategy to take the lead and drive away to victory.

"Really, really good race," said Lawson.

"I felt quite early that the car was quite strong."

"We were going to box early, but we decided to keep pushing on. The undercut worked beautifully, the guys did a great pit stop, and towards the end the car was really, really good."

Lawson becomes the first rookie to win on debut in the modern era of Super Formula and the first Red Bull junior to win a race in the series since Pierre Gasly.

It is a massive victory and a positive sign for Lawson, who follows in the footsteps of Gasly as well as fellow Kiwi Nick Cassidy, who took the series title in 2019.

Two-time champion Tomoki Nojiri led the field away from pole for the season opener, with Lawson past Ritomo Miyata as the front-row starter bogged down and fell through the field.

"The start wasn’t amazing," said Lawson.

"I lost a place but then I gained a place as well, so I stayed third."

The race was neutralised on the next lap after Tadasuke Makino ploughed into the rear of Sho Tsuboi at turn one, bringing out the safety car.

Nojiri led Oyu and Liam Lawson as the restart on lap eight, with the New Zealander on a charge and attacking the TGM Grand Prix driver into turn one.

It was to be a decisive move in Lawson's race, but the Kiwi went deep and the pair fought wheel-to-wheel through 100R and into turn five before they both ran off the circuit. Lawson returned to the track in second while Oyu fell to fifth.

The Red Bull F1 reserve driver then set about chasing down his teammate for the race lead, with the first stint slightly extended after the long early safety car. Lawson finally pitted from second on lap 21 with a blazing six-second stop, with teammate Nojiri in on the next lap with a stop just 0.4 seconds longer from the Team MUGEN mechanics.

As Nojiri emerged onto the track the gap had closed slightly, with Lawson having one lap on the fresh tyres, and he steamed past his teammate on the outside of 100R with much more grip. The move put Lawson into fifth on track and into the net lead of the race.

The running order settled in after the round of pit stops, with Lawson building his lead over his teammate as the field in front of them peeled away. The young Kiwi was gliding to the flag with a lead of over five seconds before a late safety car neutralised the race once again.

Giuliano Alesi collected Nirei Fukuzumi while attempting to overtake along the main straight, with the pair spearing off into the gravel at turn one.

With gravel spread over the track and an extended clean-up underway, the race ended behind the safety car, with Lawson taking victory ahead of Nojiri and Ryo Hirakawa.

"The safety car was a little bit scary, I was quite comfortable at that time," said Lawson.

"But obviously, just really, really happy."

"A massive thank you to MUGEN, to Red Bull, to Honda, because the car was really, really good."

The 2023 Super Formula season continues with round two at 3.30pm Sunday (AEST).