Liam Lawson struggles with Red Bull’s tricky cars, while Hadjar impresses and Lindblad waits in the wings. Pressure’s rising fast.
Lawson’s stock in the F1 paddock is starting to dip, and fast.
No one expected the New Zealander to challenge Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing, but few thought he’d struggle this much either. After a brief stint back in F1, Lawson has returned to Racing Bulls—only to find himself overshadowed by rookie teammate Isack Hadjar.
It’s not full crisis mode yet, but Red Bull advisor Dr. Helmut Marko is watching closely. And with rising star Arvid Lindblad waiting in the wings, Lawson can’t afford many more quiet weekends.
So what’s gone wrong?
According to Lawson, it’s not just him. It’s the cars.
“Both the Red Bull and Racing Bulls are pretty tricky to drive,” he admitted. “Not a lot of fun right now—I could really use a strong result.”
While the two teams run different packages, Lawson says they share similar foundations—and similar issues.
“They drive differently, of course, but they’re built on a lot of the same platforms. That means some of the problems overlap. Still, the way you extract performance is completely different, especially with the aero side.”
Looking ahead, Lawson remains optimistic about bouncing back in Saudi Arabia.
“I’m adjusting to a new generation of F1 cars—it’s not what I had in 2024. But I don’t feel like I’m missing something. I had good pace all weekend, just a DRS issue in quali ruined the race. I think things will be better in Jeddah.”
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Lawson Admits Red Bull Cars “Not Much Fun” to Drive Lawson Admits Red Bull Cars “Not Much Fun” to Drive