BIOGRAPHY
Despite coming from a family who weren't involved in racing at all, Liam began karting with his friends and quickly became obsessed with cars and with racing. By the time he was 13, he was already behind the wheel of a Formula First single seater, winning podiums and admiration with his natural talent.
His debut in car racing from karting came after he won the SpeedSport Scholarship, New Zealand's longest running and most successful young driver development programme. Following in the footsteps of the likes of Shane van Gisbergen, Nick Cassidy and Richie Stanaway. Liam won on his debut and took the Rookie of the Year title with 6th overall.
Then came 2016, a year that cemented his legend back home as he stunned the competition in the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship, claiming 14 wins from 15 races, taking every pole, and setting the fastest lap in every race. He didn't just compete... he dominated.
He also contested the South Island series to claim a total of 20 race wins from 22 races with one DNF due to an engine failure. At the time he became the youngest-ever Formula Ford champion in the world!
In 2017, with his eyes set on the big league, Liam took the ultimate gamble: leaving home to tackle Europe's ultra-competitive racing circuits.
It didn't take long for him to leave his mark, finishing runner-up in Germany's ADAC Formula 4 Championship in his rookie season, and thereby catching the eye of Red Bull Racing, who welcomed him into their prestigious Junior Driver Programme at just 17.
2019 began in winning style with victory in the New Zealand Grand Prix and champion of the Toyota Racing Series. A dual campaign followed in Europe, where Liam raced in both Euroformula Open (EFO) and in the new halo-shod FIA F3 car. Despite missing two rounds Liam finished runner-up in EFO and scored 2 podiums in FIA F3 as the youngest driver in the field.
2020 saw him contesting the Toyota Racing Series. While an engine failure robbed him of back-to-back championship titles he took 5 wins and 10 podiums from 15 races to finish 2nd.
After that he headed back to Europe where he raced for Hitech GP in FIA F3, taking 3 wins and 6 podiums. He subsequently returned home and made his saloon car racing debut in the NZ Endurance Championship driving an Audi R8.
For 2021, for the second time in his career Liam had a dual championship programme, but this time it was in two completely different cars. The focus was on the single-seater F2 championship, where Liam graduated with the Hitech GP team from F3 to drive the Red Bull-Rodin car. Alongside F2, he raced a Red Bull-backed Ferrari 488 GT3 sports car in the DTM Championship.
His first taste of Formula One came in December 2021 at the Abu Dhabi rookie test, where he strapped into the AlphaTauri and set impressive lap times.
For his second season in Formula 2 Liam moved from Hitech GP to Carlin and had a successful start taking two podiums in the first two races of the season at Bahrain.
Fast forward to 2023 and fate handed him his first Grand Prix start when Daniel Ricciardo injured his hand during practice at Zandvoort. Thrown into the deep end, Liam didn't just survive; he thrived, scoring his first F1 points in Singapore and proving he was more than ready for the big stage.
In 2024, Liam earned a full-time race seat with Visa Cash App RB, partnering Yuki Tsunoda following the sacking of Ricciardo. Together, he and the Japanese driver formed a formidable duo, narrowly missing out on moving up the table in the Constructor's Championship but creating some memorable moments on track.
Liam's rapid progress did not go unnoticed for as the 2025 season loomed, Red Bull Racing made their move promoting the Kiwi to partner Max Verstappen following the 'departure' of Sergio Perez.
Joining Verstappen, Liam is stepping into the spotlight of one of the sport's most dominant team. For the young Kiwi, it's a dream realised, and an opportunity to chase the ultimate prize.
What is next for this bold, battle-ready Kiwi? Formula One fans around the world can be sure of one thing: he's not just here to follow in others' footsteps, he's here to carve out a legacy of his own.
