Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Liam Lawson of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls has outlined how he has engineered a significant turnaround in his Formula 1 career following a challenging period that once left his future uncertain.
At the end of the 2024 season, Lawson earned a brief opportunity with the team as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo, before being promoted to Oracle Red Bull Racing for the 2025 campaign, replacing Sergio Perez. However, a difficult start saw him dropped after just two races and returned to the sister team.
Entering the 2026 season, Lawson has delivered a more stable and competitive start. Although he finished 13th in Australia, he secured seventh place at the Shanghai International Circuit, including finishing ahead of former team-mate Isack Hadjar.
Lawson explained that the result in China was achieved through maximising opportunities rather than outright pace, describing it as a “salvage” operation from a challenging weekend.
“In Melbourne we were quite quick, but in China we definitely weren’t, so we salvaged a great result from what was a pretty average weekend on pace,” Lawson told media, as reported by RacingNews365.
“Going forward, once we find some speed, I think we should be in a great position.”
The result was particularly notable given Lawson started from 14th on the grid. He capitalised on race circumstances, including the failure of both McLaren cars to start and the retirement of Max Verstappen, to move into the points.
However, Lawson stressed that the outcome was primarily driven by execution rather than external factors, highlighting the importance of race management across a full grand prix distance.
“Over a race weekend, even if you have a quick car, there’s a lot you need to get right in terms of strategy and race pace,” he explained.
“For the speed we had, we absolutely maximised the package, and that’s a good result. Full credit to the team for the hard work.”
From a technical perspective, Racing Bulls demonstrated strong operational efficiency, particularly in tyre management and strategic decision-making. This allowed the team to extract maximum performance despite lacking outright speed compared to front-running competitors.
Lawson also noted that the result provides a significant boost in confidence and motivation within the team, especially as development continues through the early phase of the season.
“I’m sure it motivates everybody, because we know that once we find that pace, we will be in an even better position,” he added.
With a more consistent start to the 2026 season compared to the turbulence of the previous year, Lawson is now positioned to build momentum. The focus moving forward will be on unlocking additional performance from the car, which could elevate both driver and team further into the competitive midfield battle as the championship progresses.
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