Liam Lawson Returns to Racing Bulls with a Point to Prove

Liam Lawson is back where he belongs – and with a point to prove.

Demoted by Red Bull just two races into 2025, the Kiwi has spent the past month turning an awkward situation into a compelling audition. Standing in for the injured Isack Hadjar, Lawson not only kept the Red Bull operation afloat, he often outperformed expectations in a car he barely knew.

At Zandvoort, he did more than survive. With minimal preparation in a new-spec Red Bull, Lawson qualified just 0.115s behind Max Verstappen, then watched the triple world champion crash out on the opening lap. The spotlight swung instantly. Under orange skies and home-race pressure for the team, Lawson delivered seventh place – the only one of Red Bull’s four cars to score points at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The momentum almost carried straight through to Monza. Lawson looked on course for another top-10 finish at the Italian Grand Prix before front wing damage wrecked his afternoon. The raw pace was there, the result was not.

Madrid made sure his cameo left a mark. Sixth place at the Spanish Grand Prix banked him 14 championship points from just three starts, a haul that underlined his readiness for a full-time seat more loudly than any press release could.

Now he returns to familiar territory – and familiar colours.

Back at Racing Bulls, Lawson finally gets clarity. No more splitting his attention between two cars, two setups, two roles. With Hadjar recovering, the New Zealander can lock in on one garage, one steering wheel, one mission heading into this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.

It is a circuit that already carries good memories. Twelve months ago, in the same Racing Bulls machinery, Lawson produced the best result of his Formula 1 career: fifth place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after qualifying a superb third. The street track, with its long straights and unforgiving walls, suited his aggression and composure. Now he returns with sharper experience and a little more edge.

Racing Bulls need that edge. While Lawson has been up in the senior team, the Faenza outfit’s grip on the midfield has loosened. Their advantage over Alpine in the constructors’ championship has been trimmed to just 11 points. A sizeable cushion earlier in the season was preserved only thanks to an off-track twist: Pierre Gasly losing his Monaco Grand Prix podium after being stripped of the result, a decision that handed Racing Bulls a timely boost.

The picture is tighter now. Every point matters. Every clean lap matters.

Baku will ask its usual brutal questions. High speed. Heavy braking. Zero margin for error. For Lawson, it also offers something else: continuity. A full race weekend in a car he knows, at a venue where he has already shown he can run at the sharp end of the midfield.

The schedule adds a final wrinkle. The Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend starts on Thursday night (NZT), brought forward by a day to avoid clashing with the country’s annual remembrance day on September 27. Compressed preparation, less time, more intensity.

Lawson has shown he can thrive in those conditions. Now he has the seat, the track, and the stage to do it again.