Red Bull newbie Liam Lawson admits he has a tiny fanbase compared to one F1 reserve driver

Liam Lawson has secured a Red Bull seat alongside reigning world champion Max Verstappen for 2025. But he’s still far from a big name in F1 terms.

Part of that is down to the speed of Lawson’s ascent. He’s only taken part in 11 Grands Prix, having spent the first three-quarters of the 2024 season as an understudy to Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo.

But as the table below shows, Lawson ranks 17th among the 20 drivers on this year’s grid for Instagram following. He’s yet to crack one million.

That puts him below midfield drivers like Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll, as well as fellow rookies like Oliver Bearman and Kimi Antonelli. He’s only above Alpine’s Jack Doohan, F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto and runner-up Isack Hadjar.

Of course, his popularity will naturally increase with the visibility of the Red Bull drive. And he’ll come to be regarded as one of the stars of the sport if he can win races and score podiums.

But speaking to Auto Motor und Sport, Lawson acknowledged that he still has a relatively modest profile for now. He even falls short of an F1 reserve driver.

Liam Lawson admits that Franco Colapinto dwarfs his F1 fanbase

Like Lawson, Franco Colapinto joined the F1 grid midway through the 2024 season. He arrived three rounds earlier, replacing Logan Sargeant ahead of the Italian GP.

As it stands, Colapinto is returning to the role of Williams reserve driver, supporting Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, who were already contracted for 2025. But that hasn’t stopped him from building an enormous fanbase.

The Argentine currently has 4.3m Instagram followers, more than two-time Grand Prix winner Oscar Piastri. Will Buxton says Colapinto attracted an ‘ocean’ of fans at the Sao Paulo GP, calling his rise ‘absolutely astounding’.

Meanwhile, Danica Patrick observed that Colapinto had people ‘all over him’ in the F1 paddock. Though Lawson called the backing of his fellow New Zealanders ‘incredible’, he admitted that it doesn’t compare to the love for Colapinto in Argentina.

Asked if he’d created hype in his homeland like the Williams ace, he laughed and said: “Yes, but on a scale of five percent compared to that! I’m incredibly grateful to have this support from New Zealand.

“It’s really, really cool. And when I see all the news from my home country and then come home, I feel an incredible support.”

Are Alpine telling the truth about Jack Doohan amid Franco Colapinto rumours?

Colapinto could yet join Lawson on the 2025 grid. It had appeared as if he’d spend the year on the sidelines before trying to find a route back for 2026.

But Alpine are showing a renewed interest in the 21-year-old. He would initially join as their reserve, but he’d put Doohan under instant pressure.

Sources at Alpine are adamant that Doohan is their driver. But many will question their belief in the Australian if they bring in a high-profile alternative.

Indeed, one report claims Doohan only has a contract for six races. If so, he must excel in his brief audition to ward off the threat of Colapinto, which looks very real.