Liam Lawson must correct one concerning 2025 trend after regaining Racing Bulls’ ‘trust’

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Liam Lawson will start the 2026 season with a huge point to prove, after a trend that emerged in 2025 almost cost the Racing Bulls driver his career on the Formula 1 grid.

The 23-year-old started the 2025 campaign by realising his dream of becoming a Red Bull driver, after he moved from Racing Bulls to replace Sergio Perez. But Lawson lasted just two rounds with Red Bull, before he was sent back to Racing Bulls for the remainder of the year.

Lawson ultimately produced enough with Racing Bulls in 2025 to convince Red Bull to hand him a new contract for the 2026 season. The Kiwi saw off the threat of Yuki Tsunoda taking his seat for the second season running, and he will partner rookie Arvid Lindblad this term.

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Liam Lawson’s inconsistency under pressure nearly cost him his F1 career in 2025

As their new team leader in Faenza in 2026, Lawson hopes to have more influence in Racing Bulls’ car development. He feels the new regulations can be a chance to make a real impact on how Racing Bulls improve their car, having not had the chance to in the ground-effect era.

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

But Racing Bulls will also want Lawson to correct the concerning trend that emerged during 2025 that he cannot consistently deliver under pressure. According to MARCA, the Hastings native’s career in F1 nearly looked over at one point during 2025 due to Red Bull’s concerns.

Lawson offered enough during the second half of the 2025 F1 season to regain Racing Bulls’ ‘trust’ and a new contract from Red Bull. But the spotlight remains firmly on how Lawson is able to perform under pressure prior to the 2026 season, with his F1 career still on the line.

Qualifying must be the first area Liam Lawson improves

Helmut Marko admitted that Red Bull made a “mistake” promoting Lawson when they did at the time of his demotion. The former Red Bull motorsport adviser felt the Kiwi failed to cope with the “increased pressure” that he faced racing with a top team next to Max Verstappen.

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Red Bull promoted Lawson from Racing Bulls too soon, as he had only started 11 Grands Prix in his F1 career before replacing Perez. His confidence then took a huge dent being demoted back to Racing Bulls after just two rounds, and it took him another nine to get back on track.

Lawson began to find his way again once Racing Bulls introduced a front suspension update at the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, which triggered a run of four point-scoring finishes in seven races. The run included Lawson scoring a career-best P5 in the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Baku also witnessed Lawson qualify a career-best P3, but qualifying was largely his downfall in 2025. Racing Bull CEO Peter Bayer wants Lawson to “work on his qualifying pace” in 2026, after seven Q1 exits and only eight Q3 appearances while Hadjar made Q3 16 times in 2025.