Liam Lawson says everyone misunderstands what was so hard about driving for Red Bull

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Liam Lawson will hope that the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season goes more smoothly than last year.

After successful cameos for Racing Bulls in 2023 and 2024, Liam Lawson was promoted into a Red Bull seat at the beginning of last year.

However, by the time the F1 circus had reached the third round in Suzuka, Lawson had been demoted and replaced by his old teammate, Yuki Tsunoda.

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This year, Lawson will be partnered by the only rookie on the grid, Arvid Lindblad, but his situation at Racing Bulls should be far more secure.

Lawson failed to get out of Q1 on all three occasions in the Red Bull car and failed to score a point, leading to many people believing that he couldn’t handle how Max Verstappen set up the car.

Despite Lawson’s frustrated radio message at the Chinese Grand Prix, he’s now lifted the lid on why trying to match Verstappen in the same car is actually so difficult.

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

Liam Lawson says he didn’t have ‘the feeling’ in the car after Red Bull before F1 demotion

Speaking on the Gypsy Tales Podcast, Lawson explained: “I didn’t have enough time to get my head around it.

“So, it was very different from the VCARB at the time, but I think everybody just maybe thinks that it’s got so much front and that it’s undrivable because it’s got so much front, and it’s actually not like that, especially from where we started.

“If you look at Max, for example, I think they actually found a lot through the year, a lot towards the end of the year, he was a lot quicker than when I was there, the McLarens were gone, we weren’t fighting the McLarens really.

“I mean, I wasn’t fighting the McLaren! It’s not just like the car has too much front because actually, I’ve always been the type of person who likes a lot of front in the car.

How can Red Bull correct the mistakes they made with Liam Lawson ahead of Isack Hadjar’s debut?

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“It’s the balance through the corner that wasn’t very good where we started last year, but it’s not just too much front.

“It’s very sensitive for sure when you initially turn in, but it’s just the feeling that you’re trying to find, like at the end of the day when you drive these cars, especially F1, the commitment level is so high.

“You’re turning into a corner at 300 [kp/h] plus flat out and not even lifting. China turn one, for example, it’s just such a high speed that if you’re not 100% confident when you’re doing it.

“It’s not like half a tenth, or it’s half a second, you lose so much lap time if you’re not.

“So, you need to be sort of that level of comfort being comfortable.”

READ MORE: All you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links

Isack Hadjar hoping to avoid the same fate as Liam Lawson at Red Bull

Multiple drivers, including Sergio Perez, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly, have all suffered similar fates to Lawson at Red Bull.

Although the team insist the car isn’t specifically designed around him, Red Bull know Verstappen’s strengths and want to play into them at every opportunity.

Verstappen isn’t a fan of the 2026 F1 car, but not because Red Bull have done anything wrong, and more because he’s unhappy with the regulations.

Isack Hadjar is the latest driver tasked with trying to match Verstappen this year.

Although the Dutchman doesn’t like the new regulations, Verstappen is already perfecting a driving technique that his rivals need to master.

It adds another layer of difficulty to Hadjar’s job, but he’ll hope he gets given more than two rounds to try and get up to speed in the RB22.