Liam Lawson takes drastic action after 'toxic' online abuse

Liam Lawson has revealed that he deleted social media from his personal devices after receiving online abuse, judging it a "toxic place".

Lawson received significant online abuse — first after being chosen as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement during the 2024 season, and then again after replacing Sergio Perez at Red Bull.

Hateful comments directed at the New Zealander continued after he was demoted back to Racing Bulls following just two races, with him admitting he has felt much better since deleting social media.

While he still posts on Instagram purely for his fans and to keep up with his friends and family, the Racing Bulls driver has been absent from X for almost a year.

"It's so much better. So, so much better," Lawson explained on the Gypsy Tales podcast. "It can be such a toxic place. I feel for people. I also left school when I was young, but I feel like I scraped through the age where social media was big. 

"In New Zealand at least, Facebook was probably the main one. Instagram was pretty new. I feel like yeah, [New Zealand is] really behind in some ways. 

"So good because now bullying in school is something that you can't escape when you go home because of social media."

'Crazy' comments

Liam Lawson is not alone in the F1 paddock when it comes to having suffered online abuse, with Kimi Antonelli having received an extraordinary amount after making a mistake in Qatar.

A late error by Antonelli allowed Lando Norris to overtake, reducing the number of points Max Verstappen was set to take from the Briton in the title fight.

In Lawson’s eyes, "99%" of those who post abusive comments online would not have the courage to say them in person.

"99% of the time, what people would say online, [they] would never have the balls to say to somebody's face. And it's the same in our sport when we're dealing with it.

"Obviously, I don't read it now, but it's that kind of thing. The amount of negativity around drivers or teams that fans don't like and just the amount of negative comments that get put out there and crazy things that are being said.

"You would never even say that in person, let alone have the balls to go up to somebody to do that, but to say some of the crazy things that these guys come up with, it's way too easy, you know."