Lawson: I needed time, and I wasn’t given it by Red Bull
F1 Drivers NewsSunday, 20 July 2025 at 09:12
Liam Lawson’s 2025 Formula 1 season has been anything but straightforward. From a surprise promotion to Red Bull Racing, followed by a quick demotion to sister team Racing Bulls, the New Zealander is now carving a steady path midway through the year.
Speaking to F1.com during the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Lawson opened up on his turbulent journey, revealing frustrations, renewed confidence, and a clear focus on the races ahead. Back from an adrenaline-charged run through the forest rally stage, Lawson slumped into a chair, Red Bull can pressed to his forehead, ready to recount the rollercoaster ride his career has taken since pre-season testing.
Lawson began 2025 with Red Bull, rewarded for strong substitute stints in 2023 and solid performances late in 2024. With a full-time seat alongside Max Verstappen, it looked like the 23-year-old had secured his F1 breakthrough. But after Q1 exits in Melbourne and Shanghai, and no points scored, he was dropped after just two races.
“I mean, it’s a bit weird to have a second to reflect,” he said. “It’s been a very busy couple of months with six weeks and five race weekends. To have a bit of time… it’s important to think about how everything’s been.”
Despite the setback, Lawson has found his footing again at Racing Bulls. His performances have improved and the points have started to come, although he remains self-critical: “I think recently, performance-wise, it’s been our strongest [phase]."
Lawson: The consistency is what’s been tough
"The car’s been fast, and I’ve also been probably at a level that I wasn’t quite at before that. I would say there hasn’t been enough points scored, for sure. Austria was great, but it’s not enough. We need to be doing stuff like that as much as we can. I think the consistency is what’s been tough," added the Kiwi.
Lawson’s early-season demotion sparked speculation over his mental state, but he dismisses suggestions that his confidence was damaged: “Honestly, not really, not yet. I think the summer break is the time everybody mentally switches off, at least for a week or so.
"But you’re still in that mindset… thinking about what just happened, how we’re going to improve in the next couple of races, and how I’m going to improve myself. You’re just in it. It’s been very heavily speculated that my confidence took a hit and stuff like this, which is completely false. From the start of the year, I felt the same as I always have.
"I think in two races, on tracks I’d never been to, it’s not really enough for my confidence… maybe six months into a season, if I’m still at that level, if the results are still like that, then I’d be feeling something – maybe my confidence would be taking a hit," he ventured.
Not enough time at Red Bull to make an impact
Lawson is adamant that the Red Bull experience was too short to judge him fairly: “I was well aware that those results weren’t good enough, but I was just focused on improving, fixing and learning, basically. I was in the same mindset as I have been since I came into F1.
“I think that was the biggest thing going into a team like that, in a car like that… it was going to take a bit of time to adjust and learn. With no proper testing, the issues in testing, the issues in Melbourne through practice… it wasn’t smooth and clean. I needed time, and I wasn’t given it.”
Lawson rejoined Racing Bulls at Suzuka, where he immediately noted differences between the two Red Bull-owned cars.
“It does feel different, definitely,” he said on Friday practice. “I think it’s maybe not what everyone expects, but it is definitely a different feeling to drive. I think the window that the [Racing Bulls] guys have at the moment is very, very good.”
While his initial results were modest, with Q2 appearances and midfield race finishes, things began to click in Monaco with a Q3 run and points on race day. In Austria, he delivered his best weekend of the year: sixth on the grid and sixth at the flag.
Lawson: The results haven’t been coming
“No breakthroughs, just gradual build-up,” Lawson explained. “Even from the first triple-header, the speed was good. It wasn’t great, but it was quite good there. Since then, it’s been in a pretty good place.”
“We’ve gone to a lot of tracks… Monaco we were very strong in practice; Barcelona strong in practice; Canada strong in practice. Then you go to Qualifying and little things make a difference. It’s not good enough, because the results haven’t been coming consistently enough, but the speed itself has been quite good.”
He recalled: “Why Austria was a great weekend was obviously just to have that breakthrough of points, and I guess probably show a little bit of what’s been building for a while, but also what needs to be coming more frequently.”
The midfield battle in F1 this year is unforgiving. From fifth-placed Williams down to Alpine in tenth, just 40 points separate the teams. Racing Bulls sit seventh on 36 points, and every detail counts.
“F1 in general is very, very close right now, so it puts pressure on us, and the team, to first of all bring the best package we have to a race,” Lawson said. “If you arrive at a track and your car’s way out of the window, and you’re trying to chase it, everybody else is improving."
Lawson: We’re just trying to keep the trajectory going upwards
Lawson continued: "It’s so close that we’re just trying to find half a tenth here and half a tenth there. All the way up until the final two corners of the lap you’re in a position where you’re going to go through to Q2, and one little thing, a tiny error, can just knock you out. You lose one or two-tenths and then you’re on the receiving end.
“The car’s consistently been quite strong recently. I think we’re in a good place, and we’re just trying to keep the trajectory going upwards," said Lawson, who has only 23 Grand Prix starts under his belt, still less than a full season. He remains focused on small improvements over big leaps.
He continued: “I think for us, it’s just having more frequent, good races – not one-off races,” he said. “It’s very, very hard, especially in the midfield, where you’re trying to have that edge over everybody else around you. You’re quite often fighting for [a few] points at the back end of the top 10.
"Occasionally, when things are really good you get an Austria weekend, but it’s very hard to achieve that all the time. I would say a consistent run of points is what we’re looking for, to have fewer of these weekends where it’s little issues, being knocked out in Q1 and things like that," explained Lawson.
Tackling each Grand Prix race by race
The intensity of a Formula 1 season, especially with triple-headers, can distort perspective. Lawson admits the fast pace of the calendar can be mentally overwhelming: “It is at the moment, yeah. I think the thing about F1 in general is you come in and there are so many races and so many weekends. You’re used to probably having a bit more time.
“Here, you’re forced to basically come out of a race weekend, especially on a triple-header, have a day to think about what just happened, and then you’re straight away thinking about the next race. You almost get lost in this world.
“I don’t know if it’s healthy or not healthy, but you just think about F1, the performance and the result. I sit here now and we’re nearly mid-July. The year has just gone. The fact we’ve done 12 races is insane, and they’ve just gone by like that.
“It does make a difference when you go into those little breaks, summer break and end of season, where you switch off. I find those moments quite weird. After too much time I get quite concerned that I’m not thinking about it… and you end up thinking about it!”
Lawson’s 2025 campaign is a story of setbacks, self-belief, and gradual momentum. As the summer break looms, the New Zealander will be pushing to ensure he ends the year with more highs than lows – and perhaps another shot at the big seat down the line.
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