Young Kiwi driver Liam Lawson had the weekend of his life, finishing seventh in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil. 

This strong finish comes at a good time - he’s had a tough year, he’s fighting for a seat in 2026, and in the last three races, he’s gone without scoring a point.

It was a beautifully executed race for the 23-year-old. He had just one tyre change early in the piece, and charged on that way for 50 whole laps. 

At the end of the race, he and Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar got into it a bit. 

Hadjar attempted to pass him in the final lap, but Lawson showed some incredible defence and glided through to seventh, Hadjar in eighth. 

To no surprise, Lawson has been met with some high praise for racing on one tyre change and his phenomenal defence at the end. 

Even his Racing Bulls engineer has officially coined him the "Minister of Defence of New Zealand". 

It’s not just his engineer, as fans have been showing Lawson a lot of love online. People are praising his racecraft and knowledge and begging for him to keep his seat - or even be promoted - in 2026. 

On a video of Racing Bulls staff celebrating, someone gave the duo a cute little name: “Keep Lisack for next season, we need to see them again.” 

“Both deserve a seat in 2026,” said one commenter. 

“NZ Minister of Defence was awesome!” was another - clearly the nickname is catching on. 

The comments did not stop across multiple posts shared by the Racing Bulls, who clearly were proud of their boys' efforts. 

“Lawson said, 'Hold my chocolate bar, I will do this on one tyre change',” was a golden comment.  

Someone else called it a “bloody sweat-fest" to watch, while others just screamed “YESSS! YESSS!” in the comments. 

Lawson’s finish over the weekend has boosted him to 14th in the drivers' standings, with 36 points. 

Red Bull, surely you’re gonna keep this man.