Red Bull puts F1 driver in rally car to see if he can get within 15 seconds of pro rally driver's lap time
Published on Aug 23, 2025 at 7:15 PM (UTC+4)
by Keelin McNamara
Last updated on Aug 21, 2025 at 3:26 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Emma Matthews
Red Bull has sent an F1 driver to compete in one of its most audacious challenges to date.
The energy drink brand sent New Zealand F1 star Liam Lawson to Goodwood to compete in a challenge.
But this is one of the craziest and most dangerous challenges Red Bull has produced to date.
Because Liam Lawson was sent to drive a rally car for the first time – and was tasked with getting within 15 seconds of a pro rally driver’s lap time.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
Red Bull sends Liam Lawson to try his hand at rallying
Liam Lawson is one of the premier young athletes sponsored by Red Bull.
The Kiwi native currently drives for the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 team.
But Red Bull wanted to test Lawson’s skills in a very different type of racing car.
So the brand dispatched Lawson to the Goodwood Rally Stage in the UK to test his skills in a rally car.
But there was just one small problem – Liam Lawson had never actually driven a rally car before.
Thankfully, though, he had some expert help at hand – from Irish World Rally Championship (WRC) driver Josh McErlean.
The M-Sport Ford World Rally Team driver took Lawson on a not-so-leisurely demonstration through the rally stage.
Lawson was forced into repeating several expletives in remarking at the speed and skill.
The Irish native would be co-driving for Lawson and providing him the navigation he needs during the test.
Lawson scorches through Goodwood Rally Stage
And the video is absolutely wild – you can check it out above at the very top.
To start things off, Liam Lawson was given four warm-up laps – and he promptly stalled at the starting line.
His first-ever warm-up lap was astonishingly quick – just 10 seconds behind McErlean’s lap.
The next lap is even quicker, with Lawson coming in at 2m30s – just four seconds behind.
Lawson ended his practice laps just two seconds behind a professional rally driver’s time.
Then, it was time to get down to business, and the official timed lap got underway.
After scorching through the forest section and sliding through the donut turn, Liam charged towards the line.
As the stopwatch stopped, Liam Lawson was just 0.050s behind Josh McErlean.
If that isn’t impressive, then we truly do not know what is.
Keelin McNamara is a content writer at Supercar Blondie from Ireland, covering cars, technology, and lifestyle. Despite being a Law graduate, he discovered his passion for journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has worked in the industry ever since. Outside of work, he is an avid MotoGP fan, and is a self-confessed addict of the sport.
