He is aspiring to become New Zealand’s next Formula 1 driver, but Liam Lawson got to experience a bit of F1 life over the weekend in Baku; or at least his race boots did.
As it turns out, Lawson shares the same shoe size as Red Bull F1 driver Max Verstappen, who had a bit of a boot dilemma.
Verstappen’s usual pair had not arrived in time for him to wear for the start of Free Practice.
Thus, he turned to his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez to provide a spare pair while his usual set were in transit.
However, it was soon clear that Verstappen’s usual boots would not arrive in time for the weekend, and Perez’s relief set were a few sizes too small.
What resulted was a pair of Lawson’s boots being used by Verstappen for the remainder of the weekend, including the race.
“I was at the hotel for a little bit and came back to the track between one of the sessions and my team boss Oli sent me a photo,” Lawson said.
“[Oli] said ‘I just gave these to Red Bull and Max needs to wear them because you’re the only person with the same size feet.
“They weren’t even Red Bull boots. I am kind of sad I didn’t give him nice boots.
“They were just plain Puma boots, and he wore those for the rest of the weekend.
“My boots get to F1 and I don’t,” he laughed.
Perhaps the most infamous moment of the weekend was Verstappen’s tyre failure in the final five laps of the race, which saw him crash out from the lead.
A frustrated Verstappen was then seen kicking the tyre once he got out of the car, with Lawson’s boots no less.