After a start to 2022 that sees him competing for the Formula Two title, Kiwi Liam Lawson is exactly where he needs to be in the quest to push for his career ambition - Formula One.
With two rounds of the new F2 season completed, Lawson sits second in the championship, 11 points behind Brazilian Felipe Drugovic.
From his opening four races, Lawson has one win at Saudi Arabia's Jeddah and two podium finishes at Bahrain.
"It's been good," Lawson told Newshub. "I'm honestly really happy with the start of this season.
"There was a lot to work on from last year, on the Formula Two side especially. So far, it's been really, really good.
"From my side, I've been doing a better job as well. Obviously, it's only been four races, but I think in situations where little risks didn't need to be taken last year, I sometimes was involved in some unnecessary incidents and just threw away points basically."
The only blight on Lawson's campaign so far came in Jeddah's sprint race, where a mistake in the pits forced him to retire, while in third place.
But while many drivers would resent a mistake out of their control at such a crucial time, Lawson, 20, is happy to move on to what's coming next.
"Obviously, the DNF [did not finish] was not ideal in the feature race, when we're fighting for a podium. It's a lot of points we threw away, but looking at the positives, we were really fast from a driving point of view.
"The mistakes made at the pit stop in Jeddah are so easy to make. We have a lot less crew members than Formula One has in a pit stop, so it's a lot harder for us.
"It was something I was hoping would be the situation, after what's happened. I say I'm a little bit disappointed in the way that we could be leading, but it's so early that it's almost irrelevant to look at the standings and things like that.
"I'm very happy with how things have gone and happy with the speeds."
Lawson's stellar start to the new campaign comes after an offseason switch to a new team, trading Hitech Grand Prix fore F2 powerhouse Carlin.
Carlin's reputation as a team speaks for itself. Seven of the 20 drivers in Formula One have been involved with Carlin at some level, including former world champion Sebastian Vettel, as well as the likes of Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris and Lawson's Red Bull academy alumnus, Yuki Tsunoda.
Despite being happy with Hitech, Lawson didn't have to ponder his decision too long.
"I had a phone call with Trevor Carlin and after that phone call, I knew everything I needed to know about what I was looking for in a team change.
"Carlin are very, very experienced. A lot of very successful guys - especially Formula One drivers now - are now in Formula One through Carlin.
"I'm very happy with the work so far. Just being that experienced as a team was the main green light for us, and also after speaking to Trevor and learning more about the current situation of the team, they're very, very motivated.
"I can say, from working with them now for two rounds, even from the testing, we've made lots of progress, did lots of development work and it was all very, very positive.
"That side of things is definitely an improvement and was also one of the reasons we said yes."
Now back for his second season in Formula Two, Lawson is banking on his 2021 experiences that earned him a record ninth-placed championship finish and a test drive with Formula One outfit Alpha Tauri.
Now with more knowledge of the F2 workings, Lawson is confident he knows what he needs to do when in the race for the championship.
"At the end of every year, you focus, and sit down and look at what you want to improve on," he added. "Also, doing a second year is a huge advantage for me.
"I've only done it once before and when I did, it was in Formula Three, and I remember rocking up to the second year and driving so much more relaxed, just knowing a lot more of what's going on, and feeling a lot better and more prepared about everything than I did the year before.
"I'm feeling that now as well - it's just a lot more comfortable. I've only done two rounds so far this year, but I feel a lot more comfortable about the way those Fridays have gone for us - practice into qualifying.
"Last year, it was always waiting quite often for my engineer's call, telling me what to do, keeping me reminded and stuff like that. I notice, so far this year, I'm doing it way more smoothly.
"Comfortable is the best way to describe that feeling."
Up next, Lawson will head to Italy and Immola for Formula Two's third round, with a sprint race and a feature race from April 22-24.
With a schedule that includes some of motorsport's most iconic venues, Lawson isn't struggling for inspiration.
"There's definitely tracks I'm excited for... every driver has tracks that they like. For me, Monaco is very exciting, I love Silverstone as a place - a very exciting track to drive.
"I would say I'm very excited for Imola as well. I haven't been there, but it's a track that has a lot of history and one that I've wanted to race for a long time."
Before then, Lawson will get another taste of Formula One, flying to Melbourne for next weekend's Australian Grand Prix.
After his successful F1 test last year, Lawson will again link up with Alpha Tauri at Albert Park's newlook layout in a reserve role for Red Bull's sister outfit.
Lawson will be with Alpha Tauri throughout the season, hoping to put himself into the team's plans, should a Formula One opportunity open up before the 2023 season.
"Working with the team a lot more this year will be great for my growth and also being in a reserve position, basically there for whenever they need something is obviously great.
"I'm excited to be involved a lot more. I'm going to Melbourne next week, which is really cool - I've never been to that Grand Prix.
"Somewhere very close to home as well. I'm looking forward to going there and being involved, being able to take it all in.
As a Red Bull junior, Lawson has the luxury of four Formula One seats to aim for, as opposed to just two for drivers of the Mercedes, Ferrari or McLaren academies.
Even with the ever-evolving merry-go-round of driver line-ups in motorsport's pinnacle event, Lawson is staying grounded in his wait to reach Formula One.
"You can't not look at it, but you do have to remind yourself sometimes it's not worth thinking about, because you can't change it.
"To be honest, what I need to be focussing on right now is Formula Two this season and doing the best job I can. The better job I do here will give me more opportunity to make that step into Formula One.
"I'm in a great position with Red Bull. They've been fantastic for me and without them, I wouldn't have made it this far.
"Their position in Formula One, with two teams, is perfect for drivers like me. It's all very exciting."
