The 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix marked Liam Lawson’s best results in his nascent Formula 1 career.
A fine Q3 lap on a damp Baku track propelled the Racing Bulls racer to third on the grid; he dropped behind both Mercedes in the race but pounced on Yuki Tsunoda for fifth as soon as the Red Bull driver came out of the pits.
Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane praised Lawson’s “20 perfect laps towards the end, keeping those cars behind him”, while Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko detailed to Autosport: “It was a very good fight. We told Yuki to do fast laps before the pitstop. So the goal from our side was that he’s ahead of Lawson, which worked.
“But obviously the tyres were not really warm, so Lawson used the chance and overtook him. And it was a really good fight between the two. Both were fast, because Yuki was sometimes within one tenth, but that shows that there is competition between the two teams.”
There was a symbol in Lawson overtaking Tsunoda, who coincidentally achieved his best race result since the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – the New Zealander was replaced by the Japanese driver at Red Bull earlier this season after a dismal opening couple of grands prix.
Red Bull had banked on promoting the inexperienced Lawson over fifth-year Tsunoda for 2025, believing he had greater potential, but changed its mind after the youngster faltered – qualifying 18th, 20th and 20th in Australia and both Chinese qualifying sessions.
Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool
Lawson was open about how he disapproved of the decision, which took a toll on his confidence as Racing Bulls was left to pick up the pieces of yet another semi-discarded hopeful.
The 23-year-old struggled on his return to Faenza. Although he was twice hindered by technical issues, he was outqualified 8-1 by rookie team-mate Isack Hadjar in his first nine qualifying sessions back at the team, displaying poor pace in early races while being involved in racing incidents.
But Lawson’s progress has been clear to see. From Japan to Canada, his average one-lap deficit to Hadjar (barring mechanical problems) was 0.208s; in the eight sessions since then it’s been 0.009s.
With the exception of the Dutch GP, where he got a puncture in the slightest of touches with Carlos Sainz, whenever Lawson has made it to Q3, he has converted it into top-eight finishes with spotless drives.
With 26 points, Lawson’s has been F1’s eighth-best performer since the beginning of the summer; only Alex Albon has scored more (28) over that period among midfield runners, with Hadjar down on 18. Lawson’s contribution to Racing Bulls has been evident, with the Italian outfit jumping back from eighth to sixth in the constructors’ standings over the last three grands prix.
Lawson’s case to retain his Racing Bulls drive in 2026 is only strengthened, although he’s not currently in contention for a return to Red Bull – but that is no longer his dream.
“I spent a long time, especially joining [Red Bull] as a junior at 17, just looking at how to get to Red Bull Racing – that was where I saw my future,” he explained in Thursday’s press conference at the Azerbaijan GP.
“Maybe… Not that I forgot why I do it, but that was so much of the goal. It’s easier now to sit back and realise the goal has always been winning and getting to the top, and it doesn’t need to be specific to where that is.”
Additional reporting by Ronald Vording
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