What Racing Bulls have seen from Liam Lawson in recent weeks following ‘damaging’ stint at Red Bull

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Liam Lawson’s start to his rookie season in Formula 1 didn’t get off to the best start after being demoted to Racing Bulls from Red Bull just two Grands Prix into the season.

Despite starting the season with seven Grand Prix finishes outside of the points, Lawson has clawed his way back into the drivers’ championship to be within just two points of his impressive Racing Bulls teammate, Isack Hadjar.

Lawson admitted to his naivety at Red Bull following his demotion to Racing Bulls, stating that he thought he would have more than the two rounds given to him to show his potential in F1 at the wheel of front-running machinery.

Having had to pick himself up after the quick decision by Red Bull, Lawson’s approach with Racing Bulls hasn’t changed, but he has noted that he feels a lot more comfortable with the VCARB 02 as he continues to get more experience in racing conditions under his belt.

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

Liam Lawson has got his ‘swagger’ back after multiple points finishes with Racing Bulls

Speaking on the Unlapped ESPN podcast, journalist Nate Saunders touched upon why he feels Lawson doesn’t deserve to be in his top three worst drivers of the year, as well as what he has heard from the Red Bull camp regarding how the New Zealander felt after being dropped by Red Bull.

“He started the year looking like a deer in headlights,” started Saunders. “Dropped by Red Bull, I think unfairly, but he just looked like his head wasn’t in the game. Since Austria, he’s finished sixth, then he had a retirement, then he finished eighth twice.

“Hadjar, in that same spell, hasn’t scored any points. So I really struggled to put Lawson in the top three worst drivers of the year because of that. I know his recency bias, but again, I think the context of everything Lawson went through this year was so damaging for him.

“And I’ve spoken to a lot of people at Racing Bulls and Red Bull over the whole season, but the last couple of weeks, they said they only just felt like the kind of the old Lawson was back.

“He walks with a swagger, you know, he’s a confident dude. That’s really a testament to how Lawson’s managed to turn that around.”

Racing Bulls CEO Peter Bayer echoed the same sentiment of Lawson’s confidence, stating that the Kiwi driver is now in his ‘best days’ after finding his form in the VCARB 02.

READ MORE: All to know about Racing Bulls from team principal to Red Bull affiliation

Red Bull are yet to decide who will be partnering Max Verstappen at the team next season

After taking over from Lawson at Red Bull for his home Grand Prix in Japan, Yuki Tsunoda’s future at the team is currently uncertain after failing to bring home a decent haul of points in the RB21.

Helmut Marko revealed Tsunoda’s future will be decided during the summer break, so it seems like we will get a decision on whether the Japanese driver will be a Red Bull driver for the new 2026 F1 regulations before the next round set to take place in Zandvoort at the end of August.

Marko has been pushing Hadjar to be a Red Bull driver next year, owing to the Frenchman’s fast start to his rookie season as the main catalyst for the change.

Hadjar, Lawson and Tsunoda are all out of contract with Red Bull at the end of the season, so the remaining ten races will be crucial in determining whether or not the Austrian drinks company will renew their deals for another season as the F1 driver market continues to spice up.