Liam Lawson joins FIA Formula 2 field with Hitech GP

Kiwi rising star Liam Lawson is one step closer to Formula 1, joining the 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship with team Hitech GP.

Liam Lawson will join the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2021. (Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool)

Lawson’s signing came on a day of announcements for the team, with four different Red Bull junior drivers to compete across the FIA Formula 2 and FIA Formula 3 Championships for the British team.

The 18 year-old claimed three wins and fifth place overall in the FIA F3 championship for Hitech last year, and will be joined by fellow FIA F3 veteran Jüri Vips, who finished fourth in the 2019 championship before racing in eight of the twenty-four FIA F2 races in 2020.

Lawson said “I’m excited to be racing in F2 with Hitech this year. Following two years of Formula 3, I feel prepared to be in this championship and do a good job for the team.”

The New Zealander took part in the FIA F2 test with the team in Bahrain late last year. "I learned a lot in the test and had a good feeling with the car.,” he said.

“This being said, there's definitely still a lot more to learn, so I am looking forward to the challenge ahead!"

Liam Lawson is one of four Red Bell junior drivers to compete for Hitech Grand Prix in 2021. (Dutch Photo Agency/Red Bull Content Pool)

French 4 champion and Honda-backed driver Ayumu Iwasa joins the team for their FIA Formula 3 campaign, alongside 2020 ADAC Formula 4 runner-up Jak Crawford, with a third driver yet to be announced.

Team Principal Oliver Oakes said that the team is proud to continue the relationship with Red Bull for a third season.

“It will see us bring two new exciting talents (Jak and Ayumu) into the FIA F3 grid, who have proven themselves with strong results in Formula 4.”

”Alongside seeing Liam step up to F2 with us after a strong performance in the Bahrain F2 Test and Jüri coming back home to Hitech who we know well from 2019 in FIA F3.

It’s an exciting pool of drivers and we look forward to fighting for victories on track across F2, F3 and the Asian F3 Championship.”

Round 1 of the FIA Formula 2 Championship is set to take place in Bahrain, 26-28 March 2021.