news-engine

The New Zealander was drafted into the senior team at short notice after Isack Hadjar was ruled out with a wrist injury, giving Lawson another opportunity with Red Bull less than 18 months after his difficult two-race stint at the beginning of 2025. Lawson made an immediate impression by qualifying eighth for Sunday’s race, reaching Q3 for the first time as a Red Bull driver and finishing just over a tenth behind Max Verstappen in seventh. The result came despite Lawson having to rapidly adjust to an RB22 he admitted was significantly different to the Racing Bulls machinery he has driven throughout 2026. Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies was particularly impressed by the performance given the circumstances and the difficulties Lawson experienced during his previous spell with the team. “It’s a very very strong demonstration that Liam has been doing this weekend. One tenth from Max, jumping to a team from another,” he told Sky Sports F1 before the grand prix on Sunday. “It’s easy to forget that one year ago he had a pretty nightmare experience here [at Red Bull] in the first two races. And today he has proven that he can still do it. “He has done a very strong start of the season.” Lawson’s race started with an immediate battle against Verstappen, with the pair racing closely through the opening corners before the Dutchman remained ahead. Verstappen’s race ended moments later when he crashed heavily at the final corner, leaving Lawson as Red Bull’s only remaining runner after the opening-lap red flag. From there, Lawson spent much of the grand prix running seventh and largely isolated from the leading six, eventually bringing the car home in the same position despite receiving a late penalty for a yellow flag infringement. View this post on Instagram It secured his first points as a Red Bull driver and completed an encouraging return to the team after his previous opportunity ended after just two grands prix. Mekies believed seventh was realistically the maximum available to Lawson given the pace of the teams ahead. “You know it’s so difficult nowadays to jump from a team to another. So I think Liam did what he could,” he said. “He obviously did a very good job in qualifying yesterday, being only a tenth away from Max. Today he was a bit on a race on his own. “We are missing the reference from Max. So no judgment on the pace. But he took the points of the seventh place, and that’s probably the best he could have done today.” Lawson was less satisfied with his race pace, admitting he had expected a difficult afternoon after seeing Red Bull struggle to match the front-running teams during Saturday’s sprint. “Today was hard,” he said. “The first lap was quite fun. But from then we just struggled for pace, to match the front guys at least. “But I feel like after yesterday, I knew it was going to be a hard race. We were both behind them, and I feel like I did a pretty good lap yesterday. “So yeah, I knew it was going to be hard. Probably not that hard. Like we really struggled to keep up with the front teams. “But I’m sure this stuff I can learn from it. I’ll obviously try and have an understanding after the weekend.” The Kiwi also admitted he was initially unsure exactly what had led to his late penalty, which came after a yellow flag infringement following the retirement of Esteban Ocon. “I have absolutely no idea what happened,” Lawson admitted. “I think it was a yellow flag. I think it must have been Ocon. But when I got the yellow, I feel like I was like next to his, around his car. I didn’t see it before. “So yeah, not my intention. But I obviously didn’t slow down enough. So I’ll learn from that. It’s not ideal.” The Zandvoort opportunity represented another significant chapter in Lawson’s turbulent Red Bull career. He was promoted to partner Verstappen at the beginning of 2025 but was returned to Racing Bulls after difficult weekends in Australia and China, with Yuki Tsunoda replacing him for the remainder of the season. Lawson has since rebuilt his standing at Racing Bulls, entering the Dutch weekend ninth in the drivers’ championship and as the highest-placed driver outside the leading four teams. Mekies had already described Lawson’s latest opportunity as “deserved” before the weekend began, pointing to how strongly he had responded to the disappointment of his first Red Bull spell. Lawson’s return was also made more challenging by the short notice involved, with Hadjar ruled out during the build-up to the weekend after suffering his wrist injury during the summer break. The Frenchman had replaced Tsunoda at Red Bull for 2026 following Lawson’s demotion last season, but Mekies stressed the team was unwilling to take any risks with his recovery. “We will push very hard to have him back in Monza. That’s the target,” he said. “We are not doctors, but we are working, and Isaac is very disciplined in making sure we have the maximum chance to have him back in Monza.” Lawson’s six points moves him back into ninth in the drivers’ championship, five points clear of Pierre Gasly in tenth.