Honda engineer saw a telling sign in Liam Lawson’s ‘data’ when he fought Max Verstappen

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Liam Lawson had a challenging season in 2025 as he was demoted from Red Bull after just two rounds as Max Verstappen’s teammate, before he found form at Racing Bulls.

The 23-year-old initially realised his dream of joining Red Bull after the Milton Keynes squad opted to release Sergio Perez after his disappointing 2024 season. But Red Bull quickly grew frustrated with Lawson, as he struggled to get up to grips with the RB21 after his promotion.

Lawson qualifying last for the F1 Sprint and the Grand Prix in China was Red Bull’s final straw and demoted him back to Racing Bulls in a straight swap with Yuki Tsunoda. Lawson feels he was just playing “catch-up” after rejoining Racing Bulls, as he then had to learn another car.

Racing Bulls only started to see clear signs of Lawson finding his feet again from the Austrian Grand Prix after the team updated his front suspension. The Kiwi scored 34 of his 38 points during the 2025 season from round 11 at the Red Bull Ring, where he finished in sixth place.

Liam Lawson ‘gained confidence’ fighting Max Verstappen in the 2025 Hungarian GP

Honda pulse producer engineer Hiroyuki Nakagawa feels the Hungarian Grand Prix was also a “turning point” for Lawson during the 2025 season. Nakagawa worked with Lawson after he returned to Racing Bulls, and he claims the Kiwi’s data in Budapest showed he changed.

READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Nakagawa saw while looking at Lawson’s data during his fight with Red Bull’s Verstappen in Hungary that his confidence had improved. Lawson qualified in P9 behind the four-time F1 champion in P8, but he ultimately finished ahead of the Dutchman by only 3.194 seconds.

“I have so many unforgettable memories from my four years working there,” Nakagawa told Autosport Web. “But, this year, I would say the Hungarian Grand Prix.

“When I was working with Liam, I felt that this race was a turning point for him. In that race, Liam was battling Max for quite a long time. But looking at the data, I could see that something had woken up and a switch had been flipped.

“I think he gained confidence by finishing in eighth place without giving up his position. And even in the second half of the season he had a few good runs after that, such as in Baku, and the data from that year confirmed how much he had grown as a driver.”

Liam Lawson held Max Verstappen off for 17 laps in the 2025 Hungarian Grand Prix

Lawson initially jumped ahead of Verstappen at the start of the 2025 Hungarian GP, after the Kiwi got a superior launch off the grid compared to the Dutchman. But Verstappen regained P8 under braking for the chicane at Turn 6 on Lap 2 of 70 after he got a better run out of T5.

READ MORE: The best moments of Liam Lawson’s career in Formula 1

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Verstappen failed to shake Lawson off his tail, before Red Bull brought the 28-year-old in for a pit stop on Lap 17 to try to get him out of the train that was forming behind Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso. His early pit stop ultimately proved detrimental to his race, though.

Red Bull had to call Verstappen in for a second pit stop on Lap 48, whereas Racing Bulls only called Lawson in for his only pit stop on L40 of the Hungarian GP. Lawson’s one-stop race let the Kiwi get ahead of Verstappen once the strategies played out, and he then held on to P8.

Lawson did not have the same pace as Verstappen with clean air, which allowed the latter to haul the Racing Bulls racer in after his second pit stop. Yet the Red Bull driver was never able to shape an overtake on the Kiwi, who then rebuilt a small lead as he impressed Nakagawa.