Liam Lawson battled hard against Sebastian Vettel. (Image: Getty.)
revealed that he established a ‘virtual rivalry’ with over a decade before he became a Formula One driver.
Lawson was alongside next year, a considerable step up that will see him go wheel-to-wheel with the biggest names in the sport.
The Kiwi already has experience in this field, albeit in rather different circumstances, stemming from when he would virtually battle it out with Vettel on video games.
Vettel was caught up in a fierce rivalry in reality with Mark Webber when the two were team-mates at between 2009 and 2013.
They made contact with each other’s vehicles in Turkey when battling for the lead and then Webber fired a dig at Vettel after winning the British Grand Prix, saying: “Not bad for a number-two driver.”
Vettel ultimately got the last laugh, beating both Webber and to the 2010 title by winning the final two races of the season in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
The rivalry had captured the attention of many fans, with even Lawson admitting that he sided with the Aussie over Vettel.
He told : “The first Formula 1 game I had was F1 2010. I was eight. That year, Sebastian Vettel won his first championship.
Liam Lawson reinacted the rivalry between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. (Image: Getty)
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“I always played as Mark Webber, so that I would go up against Vettel — I would always drive the . When I became a junior, coming here at the time, [I] felt like being an F1 driver. It’s like being in Mission Control at Nasa.”
Lawson, 22, has already been through his fair share of drama since stepping up to F1. There were complaints when he replaced fan favourite and supporters of similarly came out in their numbers to vent about the Mexican driver losing his seat.
“Originally I saw a lot of [the abuse] because I didn’t expect it, I wasn’t ready for that,” Lawson said. “To be honest, I just don’t really go on social media at all any more. I will post for my fanbase, but I won’t scroll or look through messages.
“You do the prep for F1 to be ready as a driver, and then you don’t really expect that kind of stuff, or you don’t really prepare for it, because you’re just focused on driving.”
Lawson followed in the footsteps of Vettel and Webber by getting into a fierce battle with Alonso, with the now- man describing him as an “idiot” over the team radio at the United States Grand Prix due to what was considered an aggressive overtake.
But Lawson’s verdict was clear: “There’s nothing personal with anybody, but I [had] six races to show something.
“I’m not trying to be overly aggressive to prove anything, but I’m also not going to race any differently because somebody’s experienced or somebody’s respected in the sport.”