"Red light, yellow light, green-a-light go."
A line from one of Def Leppard’s most famous rock anthems, Pour Some Sugar On Me, released in 1987, 15 years before Kiwi racing driver Liam Lawson was even born.
"Dad took me to a Def Leppard concert when I was 11. And I loved it."
Now aged 20, music still plays a huge part in Lawson’s life, especially when he's preparing to drive at breakneck speeds around the world’s most famous race tracks.
And that’s where Def Leppard comes in.
"Everyone has their own ways to get in the zone, and for me it's a lot of music. I listen to a lot of rap, sometimes drum and bass, it depends honestly."
"Especially this year, I've been listening to a lot of my dad's sort of music again, which I haven't listened to for a long time. But that's what I grew up listening to."
A passport running out of pages the main reason for his homecoming, catching up with family and a few select friends a bonus.
"I had enough pages to get through the remainder of F2 season, but if I had to do any extra stuff, which isn’t confirmed yet, but if I have to do any fly-aways with F1 or anything like that I wouldn't have had enough pages."
It also coincided with Formula One’s mandatory two-week shutdown with drivers, engineers and team principals forced to down tools for a fortnight.
"It’s a weird feeling (being home mid-season) because I don't usually come home at this point. I usually come home at the end of the year when things are done."
Although it’s hardly just R&R for Lawson, who for large parts of his time at home has been chauffeur for his siblings to work and university.
Contrary to the day job, he says he’s definitely sticking to the speed limits.
"It's nice to be doing that, coming home and living like a normal person. It's been pretty relaxed. For the first hour it was exciting for them (siblings) that I was home, but after that it's back to normal."
Cashing in on these rare ‘normal’ days might prove crucial, as he prepares for one of the most significant weeks of his racing career.
Formula One roars back into action this week at one of the most traditional race tracks in the world, ‘Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps’, or ‘Spa’ in Belgium.
It’s also where Lawson's set for his first official free practice session in Formula One, where the Kiwi Red Bull Driving Academy product will take the reins of either Pierre Gasly or Yuki Tsunoda’s Alpha Tauri car.
A new F1 directive means all teams have to put two ‘rookies’ into their cars for at least two official sessions during the season.
“I'm grateful to be selected for the role,” he said.
"I'm sure I'll be testing stuff on the car that I can help them with. But it's mostly about helping them for the weekend, because that's the priority."
He's unlikely to go out and set a new lap record at Spa, but more likely to be doing simulation runs with higher fuel loads and testing tyre degradation on the track.
A track that’s no cakewalk with some infamous corners, like eau rouge which sees drivers threading a proverbial tarmac needle at over 300km/h.
"Spa's one of the most iconic tracks you can drive on. And in a F1 car, it will be amazing. But it's also an extremely high-commitment track. So if you lose your car, you're pretty much guaranteed to be in the wall."
In a nutshell, Lawson’s job is helping the team get the car as close to race-trim as possible, finding the car’s perfect ‘window’ so that Gasly or Tsunoda can maximise their time on track to prep for the race itself.
"So for me whatever task I get put on in the car will be what I end up doing. They'll know from what they see - whether it looks good or bad on TV - they'll know from the inside what kind of drive I do in the car."
His feedback during the session will also be crucial.
"That's another big part of it. They'll judge what kind of feedback I give, how accurate my feeling is of the car, and they'll be able to tell whether I have a good feeling or not with it."
But he says no matter how FP1 goes, his goals – and ultimately his potential pathway into F1 – lies beyond this Friday.
"The target I've been set is to achieve as high as I can in Formula 2, to win races, and that's basically what my goal is and what I'm focused on."
"So although these F1 opportunities are very cool, for me I'm trying not to look at them too much and get excited about it."
Lawson is currently eighth in the F2 standings, with three podiums to his name this season, including two wins.
With only a scarce handful of seats become available in Formula One each year, he know he has to be among the very best of a crowded bunch.
But impressing at Spa on Friday certainly won’t hurt his chances.
"To make F1 has always been my dream, but the closer you get it's (then) to succeed in F1, to stay there and eventually drive towards world championships."
While he won’t be necessarily lining up against the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen on Friday, FP1 will give Lawson, F1 fans, fellow drivers, team bosses, mechanics at Alpha Tauri and crucially their bosses at Red Bull an indication of whether he has what it takes to deliver at the pinnacle of motorsport.
It’s one of the most high-pressure environments in global sports, only heightened by the sport’s current boom in popularity through Netflix's Drive to Survive.
But Lawson says the "pinch me" moments are now few and far between, as he gets used to belonging on the F1 and F2 paddocks.
"When I first went to Europe, I'd put them (F1 drivers) right up on a pedestal, they were absolute heroes of mine. But I think as the years have gone on, especially this year, they're guys I want to be racing against, they're guys I want to be beating."
"Obviously I'm not driving against them in these sessions, but that's the goal for the future."
A future that’s one step closer come Friday’s practice.
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