Liam Lawson explains why he didn’t fight 2025 champion Lando Norris harder during the Abu Dhabi GP

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Liam Lawson had a frustrating end to the 2025 Formula 1 season at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but did find himself in battle with champion Lando Norris.

The New Zealander came into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix looking to secure P6 in the constructors’ championship for Racing Bulls. The pressure was also slightly off the 23-year-old, as it was confirmed that Lawson will retain his seat in 2026 with the Faenza outfit.

Racing Bulls would secure sixth place in the championship in Abu Dhabi by three points over Aston Martin, even if they walked away from the race empty-handed.

Isack Hadjar and Lawson finished P17 and P18 respectively, with the latter battling in the midfield for most of the race. The Kiwi driver fought hard with Lance Stroll before he was hit with a five-second time penalty for moving too late under braking.

This ultimately ruined his race, but Lawson did enjoy some strong fights on the track, including an unlikely one with Norris.

Liam Lawson saw no point in fighting Lando Norris harder in the Abu Dhabi GP as his tyres were ‘pretty cooked’

After the McLaren star came in to pit on the hard tyres, he came out behind traffic, which he quickly dispatched on his way back into third place.

He passed Lawson in an audacious double overtake on the Racing Bulls driver and Stroll into turn six. What the Brit perhaps did not expect was the former to come back at him.

On the approach to turn nine, Lawson came alongside Norris on the outside and looked as though he would pull off the move. However, he backed out, with Norris going on to win the 2025 championship by finishing P3, beating Max Verstappen by two points.

Speaking after the race to Speedcafe, Lawson was asked about his battle with Norris, to which he stated that problems with tyres ultimately stopped him from fighting the McLaren further.

“I mean it was for position,” he said. “Obviously I was on pretty cooked tyres, so it wasn’t worth trying to stay there late in the corner.

“But yeah. At that point we were still having a decent race and then very quickly after that our race fell apart.”

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

Liam Lawson knows he is under pressure at Racing Bulls in 2026

The 2025 season was certainly turbulent for Lawson. He faced huge uncertainty after he was dropped by Red Bull just two races into the season, but he showed great determination to recover from the setback and finish P14 in the championship, displaying some strong results.

But the 2026 season will be a whole new challenge. Red Bull will roll out their in-house power unit, while Lawson will have rookie Arvid Lindblad to contend with at Racing Bulls, who is highly rated with the team.

Technically, the Kiwi driver is now the experienced head within the team. But Lawson has warned Racing Bulls about leaning on him in 2026, as it is his second full campaign in F1.

It would suggest that the 23-year-old knows that he is under pressure to keep his seat. Lindblad is not thinking about beating Lawson in 2026, but doing so would certainly spell the end of his F1 career.