Liam Lawson admits he’s ‘grateful’ Red Bull signed him despite ‘brutal’ pressure

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Liam Lawson has had far from an easy ride at Red Bull, but he has expressed his gratitude towards the team for helping him through his career.

The New Zealander made his F1 debut as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement at AlphaTauri for five races in 2023, before taking the Aussie’s seat for the final six races of 2024. These stints were enough for Christian Horner to promote Lawson to Red Bull in 2025.

What do you expect from Liam Lawson in the 2026 F1 season?

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That would be a decision he would come to regret, as the 24-year-old desperately struggled at Red Bull, getting knocked out in Q1 and scoring no points in his first two races. That was all he would get in the RB21 as Lawson was demoted back to Racing Bulls from Suzuka onwards.

Lawson had no feeling for the car during his time at Red Bull and could not cope with the pressure of being number two to Max Verstappen. Now back with the sister team, he is hoping to have a drama-free season in 2026.

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

Liam Lawson ‘grateful’ to have joined Red Bull despite ‘brutal’ pressure from the team

The pressure will be on the Kiwi driver in 2026 as his contract expires at the end of the season. It is something that he has had to cope with throughout his time at Red Bull, but speaking to The Hits, he says he is ‘grateful’ for it.

Asked how he copes with the pressure, Lawson said: “I don’t know. I mean, we’re introduced to it from such a young age, especially with Red Bull.

“I think I’m almost grateful that I was picked up by Red Bull at a young age and you’re put under the spotlight and under the pressure from 16 years old.

Could this be the issue that ends Liam Lawson’s Formula 1 career?

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“You have guys, you have Helmut Marko calling you, putting pressure on you. ‘If you don’t win your next race, you’re out of the program,’ like that kind of pressure at 16, which used to freak me out.

“And I think you sort of get built for it and you get to Formula 1, it’s a massive step, but it’s almost prepared you for it.

“So yeah, it’s very hard. It’s definitely something that we spend a lot of time working on. I’ve had a performance coach since I was very young, that’s been with me on a mental side. Yeah, it’s pretty brutal.”