Alan Permane, recently promoted to the role of team principal of the Racing Bulls following the events involving Christian Horner and his predecessor Laurent Mekies at Red Bull, has expressed great enthusiasm about the progress made by Liam Lawson since returning to drive for the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls team. Lawson had completed only two races earlier in the season as Max Verstappen’s teammate before his return.
Permane: “Lawson won’t thank me for what I’m about to say.” Analysis of the transformation
The French manager, who joined VCARB at the start of 2024 as racing director, has had the opportunity to closely follow the New Zealand driver’s development. Commenting on Lawson’s performance over the last four races—where he scored 16 points and recorded a retirement in Austria, Great Britain, Belgium, and finally Hungary, where he even outperformed Max Verstappen—Permane said: “He is doing an excellent job. Racing for Red Bull for only two weekends was very tough for him, and he won’t thank me for what I’m about to tell you, but he was really down on morale. Getting into our car without ever having tested it before wasn’t easy. We did everything we could to help him.”
It was undoubtedly a difficult start, especially considering that on the other side of the garage, rookie Isack Hadjar had managed to quickly capture attention: “Competing against Isack isn’t simple; he has been exceptional so far. In Japan, where Lawson debuted with us, Hadjar performed very well (finishing eighth, editor’s note). Liam had a really tough beginning,” Permane added.
The key to the turnaround
However, as the races progressed, the New Zealander seemed to emerge from the shadow that had been holding him back. The 16 points collected in the last four Grands Prix, combined with 4 points scored in Monaco, brought his personal total to 20 points—twice as many as Yuki Tsunoda, who took Lawson’s place at Red Bull.
“He worked hard,” the newly appointed team principal concluded, according to ‘RaceFans.net’. “The turning point came in Austria. We managed to provide his car with several upgrades, including a new front suspension. We developed it in the simulator. He liked it and it worked. Spa was confirmation of that. He is really giving his all. Monaco was important, but Austria is where he found his grit again,” Permane concluded, confident that this was the key factor in Liam Lawson’s season turnaround.
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