Liam Lawson returned to a Red Bull for the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix weekend, but his unexpected comeback highlighted a recurring theme in his recent Formula 1 career: he has never really had enough time to understand the Milton Keynes team’s car. That was true in 2025, when he was promoted before being replaced after just two races, and it was true again at Zandvoort, where he was called up at the last minute to replace Isack Hadjar following the Frenchman’s wrist injury.
Liam Lawson nevertheless produced a solid and intelligent performance to finish seventh at Zandvoort. More importantly, his comments after the race revealed how he views his experiences with Red Bull. The New Zealander was not blaming the car itself, but highlighting how little time he has been given to understand it properly. That distinction is important: Liam Lawson’s point is not that the Red Bull is fundamentally problematic, but that his opportunities to learn how to extract its performance have always been extremely brief.
Liam Lawson delivers solid Dutch GP despite limited Red Bull preparation
Liam Lawson’s seventh place was more than simply another points finish. He had only a matter of hours to familiarise himself with a different car, adapt to a new technical environment and then manage a complicated race, all while knowing that there was little opportunity to properly explore the car’s potential.
Qualifying alongside Max Verstappen was an encouraging sign, but Liam Lawson had already realised that outright speed was not necessarily the limiting factor. The greater challenge was understanding how to interpret and exploit the car’s behaviour. It is particularly relevant given the difficulties Max Verstappen himself has encountered in extracting the best from the Red Bull RB22 during the 2026 season.
Liam Lawson assessed his own performance without looking for excuses.
“I’m sure there are things I can improve in the race and I’ll try to reflect on that, but in terms of positions I don’t think we had the speed to keep up with the drivers ahead, and I think we already knew that after Saturday.”
His assessment was pragmatic rather than defensive. Liam Lawson knows that adapting to a Formula 1 car requires sensitivity, confidence and an understanding of how it responds at the limit, none of which can be developed fully in a single day. When discussing qualifying, however, there was satisfaction at having extracted as much as possible from a package he had barely had time to learn.
“It was difficult trying to get comfortable with this car in such a short amount of time, but I enjoyed it.”
The Red Bull was not necessarily an enigma for Liam Lawson. Instead, it was simply a car he had not been given enough time to exploit fully. His point was not that it was inherently too complicated to drive, but that he had not completed enough laps to properly understand it.
Why adapting to the Red Bull in 48 hours was such a challenge
The technical heart of Liam Lawson’s Dutch Grand Prix weekend became apparent when he described the differences between his Racing Bulls car and the Red Bull. Rather than speaking only in general terms about difficulty, he highlighted aerodynamics, comfort and the subtle characteristics a driver gradually learns through sustained time behind the wheel.
“From an aerodynamic point of view, the car is completely different… there are aspects that, when you change cars for a weekend, you can’t automatically change.”
Those differences help explain why an unexpected one-off switch is so demanding. Drivers gradually build confidence in how a car will react under braking, through high-speed corners and as grip levels change. Liam Lawson had to accelerate that adaptation process into a single race weekend without the opportunity to properly test the car or make it feel familiar.
His comments also underline how little opportunity he has had to develop a genuine relationship with a Red Bull Formula 1 car. He did not have that chance in 2025, when he was thrown into two unfamiliar circuits, and he did not have it at Zandvoort either, with just one weekend available.
“Honestly, I don’t even think I have an opinion on what it was like to drive that car. I feel like I’ve been more comfortable with this one in a single weekend, so it’s very difficult to make a comparison.”
Rather than offering a straightforward comparison between two cars, Liam Lawson was effectively highlighting the difference between the time he has been able to spend with Racing Bulls and the extremely limited opportunities he has had with Red Bull.
Max Verstappen incident adds to chaotic opening lap at Zandvoort
The chaotic opening lap, which included Max Verstappen losing control of his car through the final corners, added another complication to a weekend in which Liam Lawson was already working through a difficult adaptation process.
“Simply impossible… I had no confidence in the level of grip I was going to have at that point.”
The conditions did little to make his task easier, and Liam Lawson was also puzzled by race control’s response to the incident.
“I don’t understand why the Safety Car came out… it makes no sense.”
The weekend added another chapter to a challenging season for Red Bull, with the behaviour of the RB22 already having raised questions about how easily its drivers can access its full potential. Max Verstappen’s own difficulties have become particularly significant as the championship develops, while his long-term Red Bull future remains an important talking point despite his contract running until 2030.
Could Monza finally give Liam Lawson more time with Red Bull?
Zandvoort did not really give Liam Lawson enough time to pass a definitive judgement on the Red Bull. What it did demonstrate was how important preparation and familiarity can be for a driver who has repeatedly been required to adapt at short notice.
His seventh-place finish therefore needs to be viewed in its wider context: a different car, an unexpected Red Bull opportunity, difficult conditions and a Formula 1 career in which his chances at the senior team have so far been extremely brief.
If Monza provides Liam Lawson with another opportunity, the biggest difference could be precisely what he has lacked until now: more time to understand the Red Bull he has never truly had the chance to get to know. The Italian Grand Prix will also represent the next major test for the wider field as Formula 1 moves from the unusual demands of Zandvoort to the extreme high-speed characteristics of Monza, with the remaining 2026 Formula 1 calendar leaving little time for teams and drivers to reset between races.
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