Kiwi Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson surprises Jono, Ben & Megan

When Megan thought she was logging on for a routine Zoom interview, she had no idea what Jono and Ben had up their sleeves.

Instead of a laptop screen, she was met with Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson in the flesh.

The Kiwi driver was only in New Zealand for the day before heading across to Melbourne to kick off the first race of the 2026 F1 season with the Australian Grand Prix. "I'm here for the day and then this evening I got a flight to Melbourne. So it's going to be a busy week," he said.

The new F1 cars are "very different"

With a new season comes major changes, and Lawson didn’t sugar-coat it.

"A lot, yeah, a lot different," he explained. "So they've gone, like we're 50-50 between hybrid and combustion engine now.

"So the battery is, it's very hard to manage. Like we run out of battery during qualifying, during the race. We have to manage it, yeah. So the drivers, we have to do a lot more this year."

Getting caught on Drive To Survive 

With the latest season of Drive to Survive dropping on Netflix, Megan asked if he watches himself back.

"I watched the first, like the first one that I was in a couple of years ago because I thought that was pretty cool when I first came into Formula 1. But yeah, I haven't [watched the new season]. 

"Obviously, it's been a big year last year, so the last couple of seasons I haven't actually watched it," he admitted, adding that the show is “good for the sport” - even if it means cameras capturing drivers in their most intense moments.

And yes, his perm revelation made the edit.

"Oh, yeah. So they're like, they put that in?"

Looking back? "I like, look at photos of my old hair, and I'm just like, what was I doing? I think it looks so bad."

Handling the pressure

Jono asked how he copes with the global spotlight at such a young age.

"You have Helmut Marko calling you, putting pressure on you if you don't win your next race, you're out of the program," Lawson said of his teenage years in the Red Bull system. "Which used to freak me out. And I think you sort of get built for it."

It's just something you're, I mean, we're introduced to it from such a young age. Like in, especially with Red Bull, I think I'm almost grateful that I was picked up by Red Bull at a young age and you're put under the spotlight and under the pressure from 16 years old.

"Formula 1 [is] a massive step, but it's almost prepared you for it. So yeah, it's very hard. It's definitely something that we spend a lot of time working on. I've had like a performance coach since I was very young [who has] been with me [to work on the] mental side. It's pretty brutal."

Proud Kiwi Support

Lawson also confirmed he briefly deleted social media after Mexico 2024, later returning with strict limits - muting all F1-related content.

But the Kiwi support? That stays.

"I see the flags at a lot of races that I probably wouldn't expect to see them … I'm looking forward to Melbourne this weekend."

And the Whitaker’s chocolate deliveries? Very real.

"I had so much chocolate. Too much, too much."

It was a memorable visit from Liam - a huge moment for Megan and a proud one for Kiwi motorsport fans. Watch the full interview above and catch him in action in Melbourne this weekend.

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