Liam Lawson has spoken candidly once again about his brief and turbulent stint with the Red Bull Formula 1 team. The New Zealand driver, who had been promoted at the start of the season to partner three-time world champion Max Verstappen, entered 2025 with high expectations after strong performances for Racing Bulls. Many in the paddock believed his promotion was the beginning of a long-term career at the top level. But the dream quickly turned sour.
After only two Grands Prix, Lawson was unexpectedly replaced by Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda. The decision left the young Kiwi both shocked and frustrated. In a recent interview, Lawson admitted that his lack of familiarity with the car, combined with having to race on circuits he had never competed on before—namely Melbourne in Australia and Shanghai in China—played a decisive role in the disappointing start.
“When you look at how other teams bring in a young driver, they usually give them more preparation—more testing days, more time in the car,” Lawson explained, drawing comparisons with how teams like Mercedes prepared rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli. “Kimi had plenty of testing before racing this year. We didn’t do any of that. I was thrown into two race weekends on two tracks I’d never driven, one of which was a sprint weekend. They were far from straightforward events.”
Lawson also revealed that pre-season reliability problems hindered his progress from the outset. “We had issues during the Bahrain test, then more in Melbourne. In China, we took a risky approach with the car’s setup just to try to learn something. I was happy to do that because I thought it would help me grow for the future and give me a better understanding of the car. But in the end, that performance and approach were basically used as a reason to demote me.”
Accepting part of the blame
Despite feeling he was not given enough time to prove himself, Lawson took partial responsibility for what happened. “There were several unexpected challenges during that period that made things far from easy,” he admitted. “The weekends were never clean, and by my own standards, my performance wasn’t good enough. Of course, I pushed as hard as I could to get up to speed as quickly as possible.”
Looking back, Lawson said he would approach things differently if given another chance. “If I had known from the beginning that I had so little time, maybe I would have acted differently. But at the time, I didn’t. Maybe I was a bit naive—I thought I’d have time to grow and learn.”
The irony of the situation
Now, at the halfway point of the season, Lawson has scored 20 championship points—ten more than Yuki Tsunoda, who currently drives for the main Red Bull Racing team. The RB21, even in the hands of Max Verstappen, has shown weaknesses, while the Racing Bulls’ VCARB 02 has often looked faster and more consistent.
Over the past few months, Lawson has found his rhythm again at Faenza, rebuilding confidence and forming a strong working relationship with new teammate Isack Hadjar. The pair have turned Racing Bulls into a competitive and consistent midfield outfit.
With Formula 1 now on its summer break, fans and analysts alike will be watching closely to see whether the second half of the season can bring more success for Lawson and Racing Bulls as they battle Haas, Sauber, and Aston Martin for sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
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