From his debut in Zandvoort to shock demotion after China, there have been several twists and turns in Liam Lawson’s F1 career. He now finds himself back at VCARB for the Japanese GP, just weeks after debuting with Red Bull.
During the winter break, Lawson was relatively confident about his chances of adapting at Red Bull:
“We’re meant to be able to drive what we’re given, and maximise that,” were among his comments in February.
“So I think for me, it’s not really so much of whether the driving style suits me or not.”
In his first reflections since Red Bull’s swap, Lawson maintains that an incompatible driving style was not his main limitation.
Instead, the 23-year-old points to his limited track time.
Liam Lawson believes more time could have changed his fortunes
Even in the best of times, Red Bull are unforgiving when evaluating their driver talent.
Nyck de Vries and Daniel Ricciardo are among the Austrian team’s latest casualties.
Consistent with this approach, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko deemed it necessary to demote Liam Lawson barely two weeks into the 2025.
Considering Red Bull’s confidence when they first offered Lawson a contract, this was undoubtedly a bitter pill to swallow.
For obvious reasons, the Kiwi himself was also adamant that he could hold his own alongside Max Verstappen.
This belief was clear heading into pre-season, and remains relatively intact today.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Lawson expressed his regret at how the opening rounds of the season unfolded.
He argued that a lack of track time, rather than the RB21’s nature, is what prevented him from performing at the required level:
“It was a rough start. We had a rocky testing, rocky first weekend in Melbourne with practice.
“Then obviously, China was a Sprint.
“Yeah, I think going to places I’d been before, with the way the car was quite tricky, I think that would have helped.
“Yeah I would have loved that opportunity. Obviously It’s not my decision, and I’m here to make the most of this one [at VCARB].”
Prior to the Chinese GP, the expectation was that Japan and Bahrain would provide clearer indications about the 23-year-old’s potential in the Red Bull.
Having spent years in SuperFormula, and obviously completing testing in Bahrain, both circuits are good references for Lawson.
Not a matter of driving style, insists Lawson
Alas, his struggles were determined too significant to wait for these circuits.
“The car’s hard to drive, but we were going through a process of making that adjustment,” Lawson continued.
“For me, it’s time. With the way the weekends went, in a pre-season test you’re driving all day and you have loads of time to adjust and things like that.
“Honestly, a lack of time in the car is really the biggest thing for me – that made it hard to adjust.
“It felt like each session we were going out we were sort of adjusting or getting used to something that was a little bit unknown.
“So for me, it’s not so much driving style or something like that. It’s just literally adjusting.
“And for me, I just didn’t have the time to do that.”
Moving forward with VCARB
For obvious reasons, Lawson’s future is somewhat uncertain.
Should Yuki Tsunoda hit the ground running, it would not paint a flattering image of his two-race stint in the RB21.
Even if the Japanese driver experiences immense difficulty at Red Bull, a scenario where Lawson is catapulted back into the main team seems unlikely.
Despite this, there is still plenty to gain from a strong return at VCARB.
The Faenza-based team have a fast enough car to compete in the top 10, as both Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar have demonstrated.
This gives Lawson a chance to restore his reputation over the coming weeks and months.
Of course, his prospects at Red Bull do not appear especially bright for the foreseeable future. Still, this is no reason to lose motivation for what remains of 2025.
With Arvid Lindblad’s F1 trajectory as firm as ever, Lawson cannot afford to underperform at VCARB.
He must establish a new foundation by getting an edge over new teammate Hadjar – which can give him a platform to build upon.
The F1 market (even beyond Red Bull) has demonstrated now quickly and drastically things can change in recent years.
As a young driver with a competitive car, Lawson is still well-placed to make a good account of himself.
