Racing Bulls boss reveals how ‘exceptionally talented’ Liam Lawson handled his Red Bull demotion

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Liam Lawson continues to fight for his Formula 1 career with just four races to go in the 2025 season.

Heading into the 2026 F1 regulations, he has no idea where he will be. Red Bull are focused on their push for the drivers’ championship and don’t want to distract from their efforts. It means that a decision on their driver line-up has been delayed.

For Lawson, it can be viewed as an extra opportunity to prove that he deserves to be on the grid. Recently, his pace and performances have improved, which suggests that a Racing Bulls gig for next year might not be a bad idea.

Lawson will ‘never’ compare himself to Yuki Tsunoda, who he is competing with for a seat, because he didn’t quite receive the same opportunity as him.

Red Bull will ‘decide’ their driver line-up before Abu Dhabi, but there isn’t a specific date on it yet. It’s a question that everyone is eagerly awaiting an answer to.

READ MORE: What Red Bull are saying ‘internally’ about Max Verstappen and 2026 driver plans

Alan Permane says Liam Lawson ‘worked hard’ after Red Bull demotion

Red Bull have been told to give Lawson a ‘second chance’ amid fears that promoting Isack Hadjar, a rookie, could see his development stunted by the pressure of such a scenario. His Kiwi counterpart does at least have some experience of the situation.

Lawson thinks he benefited from a Red Bull demotion, just two races into his tenure with them at the start of 2025. It seemed harsh at the time, but might have been the best move for him to get a shot at staying in the sport.

His current team boss, Alan Permane, has revealed to the Italian edition of Motorsport.com how well he handled his demotion, including how he ‘worked hard’.

“When Liam returned to us after just two races, we knew there was work to be done, and I really appreciated his approach,” he said. “I know our drivers’ desire is to win a world championship with Red Bull, and in Liam’s case, we are working together to ensure that dream remains achievable.

“If we look at his results, we see that it took him four or five races to find the right confidence with a car he had never driven before. Furthermore, he found himself facing a teammate who has everything it takes to be considered the best rookie of the season.

“I think Liam is exceptionally talented; he worked hard with his engineers and the entire team, reaching what has been his peak so far in qualifying in Baku, where he finished third in conditions made very complicated by the arrival of rain.

“The following day, he confirmed that with an excellent fifth place in the race.”

READ MORE: Red Bull fear they could lose out on £38m if they announce that Yuki Tsunoda is leaving

Does Liam Lawson have an advantage in the fight to earn an F1 seat for 2026?

Despite Lawson leading Formula 1’s worst leaderboard, of the three drivers competing for two seats, he probably has the second-best chance of getting one.

Hadjar is guaranteed to be around in 2026, but the choice of teams is the key decision that needs to be made with him.

If he’s promoted, then Lawson stands a strong chance of keeping his seat, considering that a Tsunoda demotion, with his backer, Honda, on the way to support Aston Martin, would be a surprise.

If Hadjar stays put for another year, then moving pieces around again feels less likely. Tsunoda would surely keep his seat, and Lawson would be the unfortunate one to make way to Arvid Lindblad.

The way things have tilted, fans think Lawson and Lindblad will be at Racing Bulls, but things can change in an instant in Formula 1.