Red Bull junior Liam Lawson divulges that the drinks tube got stuck in his nose during the 2023 F1 Italian GP

F1 Grand Prix of Qatar - Sprint
Liam Lawson prepares to drive on the grid during the Sprint ahead of the 2023 F1 Qatar Grand Prix. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

Liam Lawson has shared a hilarious story of how the drink tube inside the balaclava got stuck in his nose at the 2023 F1 Italian GP, where he first tried to use it.

Since Lawson was an interim F1 driver for AlphaTauri, he was the least experienced driver on the grid, especially regarding certain features that are exclusively present in F1. As a result, he encountered the issue.

On The Project, Liam Lawson initially explained that F1 drivers have a drink tube that supplies water directly to their mouths while racing. However, it was quite new to him since he had never used it in any other racing series.

Later, Lawson shared how he got the drink tube stuck in his nose during the Italian GP since he did not adjust it properly inside the balaclava. Since he was racing hard, there was no chance that he could have reached inside the helmet and yanked it out.

"We do have a drink tube. For me, it's a new thing; I never had that before, to the point where I'm really not used to using it. It's quite awkward. I swear, the first time I used it in Italy, I didn't adjust the tube or anything, and I just left it how it was in the helmet, and when I went to use it, it got stuck in my nose," the AlphaTauri driver said.
"My hands were on the wheel, so I can't reach there and get it out of my nose. And I was stressing, like, 'Oh my God, this is going to be like this for the rest of the race.' I got a drink tube stuck in there!" he added.

Thankfully, there was a safety car after a few laps, which allowed Liam Lawson to remove the tube from his nose.

"Luckily, we had a safety car a couple of laps later, and I could get my hand up there and pull it out, and I did not have any drink for the rest of the race," he explained.

Christian Horner debunks rumors of Liam Lawson getting a confirmed seat in 2025

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner recently refuted claims of Liam Lawson having a confirmed seat in 2025. He stated that, despite the Kiwi's brilliant performances as an interim driver at AlphaTauri, there are no guarantees that he will get a seat in 2025.

"There is no guarantees of anything in life. He’s done a great job; he's really impressed us. He's done exactly what we could have asked for in terms of grabbing the opportunity in Daniel's absence to really show his capability. That's turned some heads and it's done him a lot of good. We'll keep developing him when he goes back into that test and reserve role and he'll be a candidate certainly for 2025," Horner told Sky Sports.

Lawson currently has two points in the drivers' championship but will soon be replaced by Daniel Ricciardo in the US GP.

Quick Links