After being demoted from Red Bull after just two race weekends, Liam Lawson has opened up on his mindset going into the Bahrain Grand Prix. With one race in the Racing Bulls team now under his belt, he hopes to improve as he adapts once again to his new car.
After the extraordinary decision to demote the New Zealander back to the junior team after poor performance within the Milton Keynes squad, Yuki Tsunoda took his place after a four-year wait for such an opportunity. It was still as much a surprise to them as it was to everyone else, however, with Lawson himself admitting he was shocked when it was announced.
The Kiwi had initially been chosen over the Japanese driver ahead of the 2025 Formula 1 season to sit beside Max Verstappen in the RB21, but this was quickly reversed after his struggles became clear.
“I had no idea in China – it was something that was decided I guess the Monday or Tuesday afterwards,” Lawson said ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix last week. “I found out after China, basically. It was I think for all of us probably more unexpected, but it was after the weekend.”
The timing seemed odd, with Suzuka being a track he has plenty of experience at after his time in Japan’s Super Formula.
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Team
Photo by: Kym Illman – Getty Images
“That was something I was obviously looking forward to from the start, to be honest, to go to a track that I’ve been to before,” he admitted. “Just have a proper sort of preparation, and I now have that. So it’s exciting to be here at a track that’s one of my favourite tracks to drive on. So yeah, I’m very excited.”
Ahead of this weekend’s race at the Bahrain International Circuit, the driver was asked how he’s settling back into the Racing Bulls team and whether he was happier this weekend.
Lawson responded with characteristic dry humour: “Yeah, I thought I was pretty happy last week to be fair,” he joked. “I don’t know. I think, yeah, I’m happy, I’m happy to be racing. I think the best thing about all of this is obviously it’s been a crazy couple of weeks and months and a lot of it has been not the most enjoyable.
“So the fact that I’m racing each weekend at the moment is probably the best thing for me. ‘Cause it just means I can focus on driving.”
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