Liam Lawson is back with Racing Bulls for this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix after three races deputising for the injured Isack Hadjar at Red Bull. The experience brought him into the spotlight, but also left him vulnerable.
During his three-race spell with Red Bull, Lawson scored 14 points. He finished seventh at Zandvoort and sixth in Madrid, though he endured a more difficult weekend at Monza. His performances drew praise across the paddock, including from Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies.
However, Lawson admitted that stepping into an unfamiliar car mid-season made him more exposed, especially with decisions being made about next year. "I think that was maybe what made the races at Red Bull maybe a little bit more of a challenge, or maybe made me a little bit more vulnerable," he said in Baku. "Just because it's a car that's quite difficult to drive, and I'm not used to it. And at this time of year, it's obviously quite tough."
Nevertheless, the New Zealander was satisfied with how he handled the opportunity. "They were good. And now I'm excited to be back," he added. His focus is now on resuming his campaign with Racing Bulls.
His return coincides with Hadjar's recovery from a wrist injury. Hadjar has also been confirmed alongside Max Verstappen for 2027, leaving Racing Bulls as the only unresolved seat in Red Bull's driver line-up. Lawson's own seat is yet to be formally secured, while Arvid Lindblad is also unconfirmed for next season. Formula 2 contender Nikola Tsolov has been linked with a possible step up.
Asked when he expected to know where he would be racing in 2027, Lawson suggested an answer should not be far away. "I would say the next few races, this time of year, is obviously when all these decisions get made," he said. "So, yeah, it's something that's obviously been discussed in the background. For me, it's not something I'm really discussing too much. I'm just trying to keep the string of point runs going."
Lawson believes he is in a stronger position than 12 months ago after building greater consistency through 2026. He sits ninth in the championship on 59 points, already surpassing his previous F1 campaigns. "For sure I feel in a better position than I have done in the past, I think last year was definitely more difficult," he said. "It was more difficult to have sort of a consistency of results that this year we've managed to honestly find, and that's been really, really good, so yeah, I feel better than I did last year. So, hopefully that helps going to next year."
For now, Lawson's attention is back on Racing Bulls and its fight to finish fifth in the constructors' championship. He expects some initial readjustment after three weekends in the Red Bull, but believes returning to familiar machinery should prove easier than the mid-season switch in the opposite direction.
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