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Liam Lawson was among the final trio of drivers to be confirmed for the 2026 Formula 1 season, alongside current Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar and future teammate Arvid Lindblad.
Red Bull appeared to privately make up their mind that Isack Hadjar would replace Yuki Tsunoda before the deadline set after the Qatar Grand Prix.
There was also a lot of excitement surrounding the latest protege to come out of the Red Bull junior program, with Arvid Lindblad touted to step into Hadjar’s seat long before his promotion was confirmed.
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That meant it was a straight shootout between Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, and the New Zealander eventually came out on top.
Gary Anderson has told Lawson what Racing Bulls will want to see after being chosen over Tsunoda to mentor Lindblad next season.
The 23-year-old has now spoken about the decision that saw him retain his seat, the weakness he knows he needs to ‘eliminate’ before the 2026 campaign, and whether he’s considering changing his aggressive driving style.
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Liam Lawson knows he needs to ‘eliminate’ the ‘not-so-great’ moments he has on track
Lawson was speaking to The Race, and looking back at the 2025 campaign, he said: “The year has been crazy. You obviously go into a season, and for me this year, going into my first full season, you sort of go into it with a plan.
“But I think we’re well aware that things don’t always go to plan – and I definitely didn’t expect it to be this kind of year with everything that played out.
“The first part of it just felt like trying to play catch-up, to be honest, after the team switch, coming back to VCARB, just trying to sort of find my feet again and understand where things were at with the team.
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“I hadn’t done any of the pre-season with them, so it was tough at the start.
“But then we found a good balance, and I felt quite comfortable. But it’s been such a close year that if you’re not on top of things 100% all the time, it’s so easy to miss a weekend or have a bad session.
“It’s just felt like a battle all year, to be honest. We’ve had some really good moments, but also some not-so-good moments.
“And I think going into next year, it’s about trying to eliminate the not-so-good ones.”
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Liam Lawson concedes that his driving ‘style’ has caused him trouble during the 2025 F1 season
One of the attributes that Red Bull would have been looking at when it came to whether or not they should retain Lawson was how often he finds himself clashing with other drivers.
Lawson had to apologise last season after a skirmish with Sergio Perez at the Mexico City Grand Prix that saw him give the former Red Bull driver the middle finger.
At the Italian Grand Prix, Lawson and Tsunoda made contact, and his five retirements in 2025 put him at the top of the list for most DNFs this season (alongside Fernando Alonso and Gabriel Bortoleto).
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Asked about his driving style, Lawson said: “It’s not every time I’ve got it right. There have been scenarios this year where either I should have just conceded or have picked up damage where I didn’t need to. And I think that’s stuff that I’ll learn from.
“But it’s definitely my style, and it’s the way that I felt helped me get to F1 in the first place.
“I’ve tried not to change too much of it, but there are always things you can learn, and there’s been a lot of that this year.”
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