- F1’s month-long break opens a surprise door for Lawson to race in New Zealand.
- Supercars organisers hunt for a spare seat, but currently there are no vacancies.
- Triple Eight is almost out, leaving Lawson’s wildcard dream hanging by a thread.
Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson could race in his home country this April. The Racing Bulls driver has been linked with a wildcard entry in the Repco Supercars Championship in New Zealand, with series organisers reportedly pushing hard to make it happen.
But finding him a car has proved to be the sticking point, and the window is narrowing fast.
The opening came from an unlikely place. Ongoing conflict in the Middle East forced Formula 1 to cancel its Bahrain and Saudi Arabia rounds, leaving the sport without a race until the Miami Grand Prix in May.
That gap, unprecedented in the modern era of the sport, sent several drivers scrambling for something to do. For Lawson, the timing pointed squarely at home.
The Supercars calendar carries two New Zealand rounds in April. The Taupō Super 440 runs from April 10 to 12. The Christchurch Super 440 follows from April 17 to 19.
Both fall inside the F1 window, and both sit on Lawson’s doorstep.
The wildcard proposal
Australian motorsport journalist James Phelps broke the story on Fox Sports, describing a situation that was serious in intent but uncertain in execution.
He said Supercars had reached out to multiple teams asking whether any driver would be willing to give up their seat for the weekend. No one had stepped forward.
“Supercars is considering the possibility of having Liam Lawson participate in one of the races in New Zealand as a wildcard,” Phelps said. “I can assure you that the thing is serious… the only problem is that they have to find him a car. There are currently no spare cars, so they don’t have one.”
“Here’s how serious the situation is: they contacted several teams asking if they had drivers willing to give them the place for the weekend. It would be a huge event for the sport if they could get it there; it would have worldwide resonance,” he added.
He also explained why the search had been difficult. Every driver on the grid, regardless of where they sit in the standings, believes they are in with a shot under this year’s qualification system.
Asking someone to walk away from that is a hard sell.
What makes Liam Lawson a compelling fit
The New Zealander is not entirely new to the world of Supercars. He has driven two different Gen3 Supercars in recent years.
In 2024, he sampled a Blanchard Racing Team Mustang at Albert Park. More recently, he drove an ex-Shane van Gisbergen Triple Eight Chevrolet Camaro at Highlands Motorsport Park.
He knows what the cars demand.
The case for his inclusion goes beyond his competitiveness, though. Lawson is a current F1 driver racing in a sport that rarely shares its calendar with other series.
His presence would pull in international media. It would place the Supercars name in front of an audience the championship does not normally reach.
For Lawson personally, the pull is simpler. Racing at home, in front of a crowd that knows his name, while still an active Formula 1 driver, is the kind of moment that does not come around twice.
Skaife sees opportunity for the lower end of the grid
Five-time Supercars champion Mark Skaife offered the most practical reading of where a seat might come from.
He pointed to the teams outside the championship fight as the ones with the most to gain and the least to lose.
“From the middle of the grid down, why not consider it?” Skaife said on Fox Sports. “We are probably not fighting for the championship. There are a couple of drivers at the bottom of the table who might wonder: ‘Could we turn that car into a Red Bull, a car for Liam Lawson?'”
His point was straightforward. A backmarker team would keep whatever points Lawson scored under its banner. In return, it would get the kind of exposure that results alone could never deliver.
The bigger picture
The most natural fit, Triple Eight Race Engineering, is almost certainly off the table. Team principal Jamie Whincup has already dampened expectations.
Both Broc Feeney and Will Brown are in championship contention for 2026, and neither is likely to volunteer their seat mid-season.
Lawson’s own schedule adds another layer of difficulty. The New Zealand Herald reported that Lawson plans to visit New Zealand during the F1 break to renew his passport, but is expected to return to Europe before the Taupō round.
Whether Racing Bulls would release him to extend that trip remains unclear.
The story, though, has already done something on its own. It put New Zealand motorsport into conversations it does not usually reach.
Whether Liam Lawson ends up on the grid in Taupō or Christchurch remains to be seen.
