Liam Lawson gives brutally honest verdict on how he would score his 2025 Formula 1 season

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Liam Lawson is in his first full-time assault on Formula 1 in 2025, and it has not gone the way he would have expected.

The New Zealander had made a name for himself as a substitute driver for Daniel Ricciardo in 2023 and 2024 with Racing Bulls (formerly AlphaTauri). So much so that Christian Horner promoted Lawson to Red Bull to replace Sergio Perez for 2025.

Racing with Max Verstappen as a teammate has proven to be a monumental challenge for several drivers, ultimately leading to their sacking. Lawson found that out the hard way this season as he struggled to adapt to the RB21.

Lawson lost total confidence at Red Bull as he qualified at the back of the grid in the opening two races and scored no points. Despite having never driven in Melbourne and Shanghai before and having limited experience in the car, he was dropped back to Racing Bulls at Suzuka.

This would turn out to be a blessing, however, as he has since recovered his form and grown more confident in the VCARB 02. Scoring 30 points in 18 races and a career-best finish of fifth in Baku, Lawson is now ahead of his Red Bull replacement Yuki Tsunoda.

Liam Lawson would score his 2025 Formula 1 season ‘not high enough’

Lawson admits he benefited from his Red Bull demotion, but he still would not give himself a ‘high enough’ score for his season. Speaking on Mike Hosking Breakfast, he commended his improvements at Racing Bulls, but he expected more from 2025.

Asked how he would score his season, he replied: “Not high enough, not as high as I wanted to. I think it’s very rare to look back on stuff and think I did everything exactly as I wanted to do. For me, as long as I look back on this year and learn from things that I feel like I could have done better.

“I think we’ve done a really good job through a good part of this year. The second half of the year has been a lot stronger. I think we were trying to play catch-up for the first part, because of the way the start of the year unfolded. 

“And I think that we definitely got there, but in a sport where there’s just so many variables and you don’t put one piece of the puzzle together on a race weekend and, especially in a season that’s so close, you just get knocked out and you’re fighting where you don’t want to be fighting.

“I think that trying to do that every single weekend and have everything go right is very tough, but those are the things that I look back on and learn from.”

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

Could Liam Lawson return to Red Bull one day?

As the 2025 season nears its end, the Kiwi driver is fighting for his future in F1. Lawson’s contract expires at the end of the year, and he is in the running to keep his seat at Racing Bulls.

Red Bull are yet to confirm their 2026 line-up as they want to assess their drivers further while Verstappen fights for the 2025 title. But the feeling is that Lawson will keep his seat and have Arvid Lindblad next to him, while Isack Hadjar moves to the main team.

However, Gary Anderson wants Lawson to replace Tsunoda at Red Bull and be given a ‘second chance’. He does not believe Hadjar is ready to make the step up to the Milton Keynes outfit – the Frenchman has largely outperformed his teammate in 2025.

Lawson’s chances of a Red Bull return are very slim after his disastrous start to 2025. With his future likely lying at Racing Bulls, he will be keen to keep up his form heading into 2026.