Racing Bulls boss says Daniel Ricciardo taught them ‘tough lessons’ before Liam Lawson joined

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Liam Lawson lost his Red Bull seat just two races into the 2025 Formula 1 season and was effectively demoted back to sister team Racing Bulls.

But even at the time, Max Verstappen predicted that Lawson would be better off at Racing Bulls, and the championship standings suggest he was correct.

He had to wait until round eight in Monaco to score points, but he did so on another seven occasions before the end of the year. That run included Lawson’s career-best P5 finish at the Azerbaijan GP.

In this period, he outscored Yuki Tsunoda, the driver who replaced him at Red Bull, 38-30. That helped to keep him on the grid, while Tsunoda has dropped into a reserve driver role.

Racing Bulls made their car ‘much more user-friendly’ after Daniel Ricciardo travails

Lawson deputised for an injured Daniel Ricciardo in 2023 but took the Australian’s seat at the end of the 2024 season. Ricciardo’s main problem was a lack of consistency.

He finished fourth in the Miami Sprint race and qualified P5 in Canada, but those were the only real glimpses of his best form. He found the VCARB01 to be an ‘unpredictable’ car, which may explain why (via Formula Rapida).

Ricciardo even changed his chassis to rule out any underlying car problems, underlining his fundamental discomfort. Speaking to The Race, Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane said they learned some ‘tough lessons’ from the season.

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They took a different approach for the 2025 season that made the car more ‘user-friendly’, which clearly helped a still-inexperienced Lawson.

“I think we stepped up with a much more solid car,” Permane explained. “It was a much more drivable, much more user-friendly car, and that’s something that we worked consciously, and we worked hard on.

“We kind of learned some lessons, some tough lessons with the car, and the aero guys did a really good job in sort of correcting those hardships. And we applied those, not to say ‘rules’, but those things that we’ve learned about the car.”

Liam Lawson still has one obvious weakness as an F1 driver

Racing Bulls‘ new philosophy was also ideal for Isack Hadjar, who was immediately on the pace as a rookie. Hadjar steps up to Red Bull for 2026, with another newcomer in Arvid Lindblad replacing him.

Hadjar only finished two places above Lawson in the championship, but he was dominant in the qualifying battle. The final score was 16-6 or 21-6 including Sprint weekends.

Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer says Lawson must work on his one-lap pace heading into 2026. After finally finding some stability, he will be expected to beat Lindblad.

Indeed, Lindblad could end Lawson’s F1 career if he prevails in the teammate head-to-head, particularly if another young talent emerges.