Liam Lawson scored his first points of 2025 in last week’s Monaco Grand Prix after helping Racing Bulls game Formula 1’s mandatory two-pit stop rule to finish in P8.
F1 tried to spice up the show on the streets of the Principality by forcing drivers to run three different sets of tyres during the Monaco GP, compared to the usual requirement of two. Yet the one-off rule change tempted teams like Racing Bulls to back the pack up to earn points.
Lawson was the first sacrificial lamb last Sunday after qualifying behind his rookie teammate Isack Hadjar, with the Racing Bulls pair starting the Monaco GP in P9 and P5. The Kiwi had to slow his pace to build a window for Hadjar to complete his two pit stops and still finish in P6.
But Williams copied Racing Bulls’ strategy in the Monaco GP, with Carlos Sainz and then Alex Albon backing off to build gaps for the other to pit also giving Lawson the margin he needed to take P8. The 23-year-old also made Q3 for the first time in the 2025 F1 season in Monaco.
Liam Lawson feels Racing Bulls have not been ‘brave enough’ in qualifying with the C6 Pirelli tyre
Hadjar scored his career-best finish to date in Monaco with P6, having also achieved his best qualifying result so far on the streets of the Principality with P5. It was the fourth time from the first eight rounds of the campaign that the 20-year-old reached Q3 in qualifying, as well.
READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know
Yet while Lawson also reached Q3 at the Monaco GP, the New Zealander thinks Racing Bulls were not ‘brave enough’ in qualifying compared to some of their rival teams with the new-for-2025 C6 soft Pirelli tyre. The C6 tyre made its debut at Imola ahead of the Monaco GP.
“[The new C6] isn’t that much of a shift [from the C5],” Lawson claimed, via quotes by Auto Action. He also added regarding rival teams being more aggressive than Racing Bulls during qualifying: “We haven’t been brave enough to do that yet.”
Liam Lawson has endured four Q1 exits to Isack Hadjar’s zero in 2025 ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix
Qualifying has not been where Lawson has shone so far this season, having bowed out in Q1 four times. Only Oliver Bearman (6), Gabriel Bortoleto, Nico Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll (5) have failed to progress from the first stage of qualifying more often in the first eight rounds.
READ MORE: Who is Racing Bulls 2025 F1 driver Isack Hadjar? Everything you need to know
Two of Lawson’s four Q1 exits also came during his two rounds at Red Bull. He was even the slowest driver during qualifying for the F1 Sprint and the Grand Prix in China, which was the final nail in his coffin at the team as Red Bull replaced Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda this March.
Hadjar, on the other hand, is yet to be eliminated from qualifying in Q1 ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend. The Frenchman has reached Q2 and Q3 four times each for Racing Bulls since Red Bull placed Hadjar in their junior team to initially replace Lawson this season.
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