It’s been a tough year for Kiwi F1 driver Liam Lawson, who was brutally dropped from Red Bull’s F1 team just two races in. This saw him move to the second-tier ‘Racing Bulls’ side.
The decision was made by Christian Horner, who was recently dumped from his position as CEO and Team Principal in a “shock firing”.
How did Lawson’s performance struggle early in the season?
Sadly, the stage was set for the 23-year-old to crumble. And for a while, it did.
He went eight weeks into the F1 season without scoring a single point and was consistently outperformed by Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar.
Unsurprisingly, Lawson’s criticism came hard and fast.
Lawson is showing signs of a comeback
Despite his rough start, he’s now made three visits to the top ten in four races.
Lawson has climbed to 15th for the season, with 20 points.
He banked his first points of the season when he finished eighth in Monaco, followed by a season-high sixth in Austria, then another eighth in Belgium.
Most recently, on Monday, Lawson went another step further into his ‘redemption arc’, finishing eighth at the Hungarian GP.
He was the first Red Bull car through, ahead of Verstappen, Tsunoda, and Hadjar.
This is the first time this season a Racing Bulls member has finished ahead of Verstappen, discounting the time that Hadjar slid upward due to Verstappen’s penalty.
What does Red Bull Racing have to say?
Recently-promoted Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane says he’s seen a “breakthrough” by Lawson, according to Racing News 365.
Permane suggested that Lawson had “lost a spring in his step”, following his demotion and poor Racing Bulls start.
Lawson’s statement after he was dropped was largely positive, saying “it’s tough,” but he was “grateful” for it all.
He said he was appreciative of all the support, and he was “excited” and “ready” to kick things into gear with the Racing Bulls. (Pun fully intended - cheers.)
Despite this, Permane admitted he was “a bit downbeat” because of the “tough introduction”.
He said that Austria was considered a “breakthrough” for Lawson. The engineering team developed a new front suspension, which he liked and “was really enthusiastic about”.
What’s made the difference?
These recent results spoke volumes about the changes made to his car and probably answered some questions for the Red Bull team.
It is no coincidence that since the introduction of both Laurent Mekies and Alan Permane, Lawson has received a lot of specialised support.
Now, don’t sue me, but I believe this played a massive part in catalysing improved performance for Lawson in some capacity.
The fact that they are seemingly creating strategies that are intentionally built purely around Lawson, as opposed to a “one size fits all” approach, is going down a treat.
What does Lawson’s Racing Bulls teammate think?
Hadjar has also stood in support of Lawson publicly, vocalising his appreciation for Lawson’s efforts at the Monaco GP, saying their strategy was “perfectly executed”.
Racing Bulls called for Lawson to “back the pack up”, meaning Hadjar could make both visits to the Pit Lane and lose minimal places, which turned out to be a success.
“Liam helped me massively, it was great teamwork… he helped me, but he also got points, so I’m really happy for him,” said Hadjar.
What’s next for Liam Lawson in the F1 season?
F1 sees a three-week break before the upcoming Dutch GP, and I think it’s fair to say that our Kiwi mate Liam Lawson should have a sh*t ton of confidence heading into it.
He is in one solid position for making even more of a statement that he’s already made.
