Liam Lawson eyes chance to overtake title rival in 2023 Japanese Super Formula championship

Liam Lawson of New Zealand. Photo / Getty

With only three races left in the 2023 Japanese Super Formula championship, Liam Lawson is hoping to make the most of this weekend’s race at Motegi to remain in the hunt to win the championship.

“I haven’t been to this track before but have been on the sim and watched a lot of footage of the track and onboards,” Lawson told the Herald.

“The track looks like something we think will be OK with our car and we should go well.”

Lawson is in a purple patch, having won last time out at Fuji and is just one point behind championship rival Ritomo Miyata.

What may play into Lawson’s hands is his rival’s TOMs team hasn’t won a race at Motegi since 2013 and Miyata has not finished higher than eighth in four races at the circuit.

Despite winning three of the last six races this year, consistency has been a little hard to find for the Kiwi.

“To be fair I’d like to be a bit more consistent compared to the main guys we’re racing, especially Miyata from TOMs. He’s been on the podium four or five times in a row now,” said Lawson.

“That’s a level of consistency you don’t normally see in Super Formula and that’s what’s keeping him in front of us.

“We have to try and be on the podium in each race. This year, unless we have won the race, we haven’t been on the podium, so I’d have to say there is room to improve in that area.”

The 21-year-old has been at a disadvantage to his fellow racers as he hasn’t raced on most of the tracks in the series. Being on the simulator has its advantages, but it’s nothing like turning laps in practice, or in the heat of a race.

The good news though is that if Lawson can get a good result this weekend and either leave leading the championship, or still within touching distance of Miyata, he’ll finish the season at Suzuka, a track he has raced on before.

“The others know the tracks very well, which helps with qualifying. It’s a bit tricky for us with me not knowing the tracks. Going from track to track and not knowing what they are like has been a challenge and the most difficult part.

“It’s all about experience and seeing how these races play out strategy-wise and what to do if something happens. You have to have a plan as to how to react to things that don’t go according to plan and we haven’t been that good with that so far.

“To be fair the team [Team Mugen] has been amazing this year and it’s been a very cool experience to work with them. I’m learning a lot.”

On top of worrying about clinching a Super Formula championship, Lawson is now doing full time duties as a Red Bull Racing Formula One reserve driver, now that Daniel Ricciardo is back in the driver’s seat at Alpha Tauri.

“I’m based in the UK and have to fly here to Japan for each race and then to the F1 races. There’s been a lot of flying this year, and it’s just got more so now that Daniel and I aren’t splitting the reserve role anymore - I have to do all of them now.

“There’s bit of jet lag but not too much as I’m never in one place long enough to fully adjust to any one time zone.”