Lawson, who races in the Brazilian Grand Prix on Monday, became the 10th New Zealander to reach Formula One through talent, hard work and unwavering desire, rather than deep family pockets.
But determination alone is not enough to make it – also required is somebody with lots of money to believe in you and back your journey.
From when he was a young teenager, Lawson’s family thought he had the mental fortitude and talent to go all the way, along with a close group of managerial and financial supporters.
His career started to take off when Red Bull Racing driver development guru Helmut Marko called, and then came the involvement of Dicker of Rodin.
“None of these things [spotting young talent] have any sort of grand plan going on,” Dicker said. “As far as Liam is concerned, his manager [Grant McDonald] lives just down the road from where we are, so he got in contact with us.
“It’s interesting trying to get youngsters into Formula One. Liam came here [to the Rodin Cars track] and tested the cars and it seemed just a natural thing to put money in to keep him going.
“The problem, especially in New Zealand, is the money [to race internationally] – it’s so expensive. I could be wrong but F4 costs about $820,000, GB3 is about $900,000 or so, F3 $2.8 million and F2 anything around $4.5m-plus.
“There’s a very limited amount of people who can stump up that sort of money that you’re not going to get back. There is prize money if you win a championship, but that goes to the team.
“In the end with Liam, I decided to help them with some of the money to get him into the F2 seat, as they were struggling to get the amount together for the drive.
“Now he’s in Formula One, hopefully he does well, as being in with Red Bull, there’s a fair bit of pressure.”
On top of building a globally successful and lucrative business, Dicker is a racer, so understands what it takes to get to the top.
“I did three or four seasons of Ferrari Challenge racing in Australia in the 1990s and have done some racing in Christchurch as well.
“My interest in racing started in the 1970s when I got a licence, and it was a good time to get interested in racing in Australia because touring car racing was at its peak.
“I enjoyed the Ferrari Challenge, as it’s oriented for guys like me. I thought about getting into tour car racing in the 1990s when I was in my 40s, but decided against it, as the commitment is huge.
“I’d still like to race, but the older I get, the harder physically it becomes. You always want to do as well as you can but the body lets you down sometimes.”
Liam Lawson at the Mexican Grand Prix. Photo / Getty Images
Dicker blames a famous Kiwi racer for getting him deep into motorsport. He was encouraged to buy a European race team to create a scaffolding of junior single-seater categories to help the best and brightest young drivers follow their dreams of getting to F1.
Dicker’s Mt Lyford company has partnered with Motorsport New Zealand for a Formula Ford to Formula One initiative, powered by Rodin.
“I blame Greg Murphy for getting me involved. He rang me up one day and said Carlin is for sale.”
Carlin was a well-respected team that had provided a pathway for many drivers into F1, contesting Formula 2, Formula 3, GB3, F1 Academy, British F4 and Spanish F4.
“We’re at the stage now that drivers with talent and desire can progress. Formula Ford is still the best open-wheel category in New Zealand for young guys and still something you can run without breaking the bank, and that’s why we decided to back it as a pathway in partnership with Motorsport New Zealand.
“If we can identify drivers there who are quick, we can support them. There are drivers in the past who had the talent and could have gone all the way if they had the backing.
“It’s just so expensive overseas and you also have to look at accommodation and living expenses as well. If we can try and help, we will, as it would be a shame if there are drivers who have the talent to get to F1 but couldn’t due to finances.”
Dicker attempted to round out the pathway from Formula Ford to the pinnacle of single-seater racing with an audacious bid.
“I tried to get into Formula One a year or so ago without any success and am now looking at the potential of getting into the World Endurance Championship [WEC] in the near future.
“I’d like to build my own car at some stage but it would be more sensible to run a custom car for a few seasons to get some experience, rather than building a whole car from scratch,” said the Cantabrian.
“I’m not going to give up on trying to get into F1, and by racing WEC, the No 2 category, on top of the junior categories, it gives a compelling argument to get into Formula One.”
Dicker makes an effort to get to most of his team’s races and has a passion for wanting to help people with the drive to succeed, especially in motorsport.
“You have to be patient, and when talent comes along, you have to have the basic environment and opportunity to nurture it, then you can make something out of it.”
Eric Thompson is a former international motorcycle racer and race mechanic and has written for Motorcycling Weekly, Motorcycle International and Classic Bike in the UK. He has also dabbled in saloon car racing and karting and has reported on motorsport for the Herald since 2006, and in particular New Zealanders racing domestically and internationally.
