©SuperFormula
Red Bull Racing reserve Liam Lawson hit the ground running on his Super Formula debut on Saturday, the Kiwi winning the Japanese series' opening round at Fuji.
Lawson – who is sharing reserve driver duties this season at Red Bull with Daniel Ricciardo – launched his race from third on the grid but progressed to second after an early safety car period.
Thereafter he resumed his charge and, after a timely mandatory pitstop, eventually got the measure of his Mugen teammate and poleman Tomoki Nojiri, crossing the chequered flag with a little over 2 seconds in hand.
Lawson, who finished third in last year's FIA Formula 2 Championship, is the first Red Bull junior to win a race in Super Formula since Pierre Gasly in 2017.
