Liam Lawson no longer focuses on Red Bull: the only goal is to win. Liam Lawson scores his best career result in Baku.

Liam Lawson achieved the best result of his career in Baku, finishing in the points in fifth place, just ahead of Yuki Tsunoda. Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane described the final laps as “20 perfect laps, keeping those cars behind him,” while Helmut Marko also shared his thoughts on the performance.

Lawson’s shift in perspective

“It was a great battle. We told Yuki to do some fast laps before the pit stop, so our goal was to keep him ahead of Lawson, which worked. But obviously the tires were not very warm, so Lawson seized the chance to overtake. Both were fast, as Yuki was only a tenth behind, but this shows there is real competition between the teams,” Liam Lawson explained.

Lawson struggled at the start of this season, but the reasons are clear: after just two races, he was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda at Red Bull and sent to Racing Bulls without much explanation. The New Zealander openly disagreed with the decision from the beginning and naturally needed a few more races to settle into the Faenza-based team.

Despite these challenges, Lawson is now 13th in the drivers’ championship and has collected important points, particularly in the most recent races. Notably, he has scored more points than Yuki Tsunoda, his former replacement.

Liam Lawson has always said that his dream was to win with Red Bull, but the Milton Keynes team disappointed him. During the Thursday press conference ahead of the Baku Grand Prix, he stated: “I spent a lot of time, especially when I joined as a junior [at Red Bull, ed], at 17 years old, thinking about how to get into Red Bull Racing: that’s where I saw my future. Perhaps…not that I forget why I do it, but that was largely the goal. Now it’s easier to relax and realize that the goal has always been to win and reach the top, without needing to define exactly which team.”

Ultimately, reaching the top is the goal for any driver, even if some deliberately choose their team. This was the case for Lawson, but the Milton Keynes team left him disillusioned: now his only objective is to win.