Liam Lawson Returns to Racing Bulls for Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Liam Lawson heads back to familiar territory this weekend with his reputation enhanced and his future still simmering in the background.
Demoted by Red Bull just two races into 2025, then thrown back into the spotlight as a stand‑in for the injured Isack Hadjar, the Kiwi has responded in the only way that really counts in Formula 1: by scoring points.
Making a point in orange country
The statement drive came at the Dutch Grand Prix.
Dropped into a new car with limited preparation, Lawson qualified just 0.115s behind Max Verstappen – in Verstappen’s own backyard, in front of a sea of orange. On Sunday he went one better than that qualifying performance, surviving the chaos that swallowed his team leader on the opening lap.
As Verstappen crashed out, Lawson kept his head. He brought the car home in seventh, the only one of Red Bull’s four entries to finish in the points. On a weekend that could easily have exposed rust and uncertainty, he instead underlined exactly why he remains on the radar.
Points, damage, and a quiet haul
His three‑race stint as deputy didn’t stop there.
At Monza, Lawson’s chance of another top‑10 finish evaporated with front wing damage, a costly blow around a circuit where rhythm and clean air are everything. Even so, the speed was there, the composure was there, and the impression he left on the paddock did not hinge solely on the final classification.
Then came Madrid and the Spanish Grand Prix. Lawson converted opportunity into hard numbers, taking sixth place and banking more valuable points. Across those three outings he walked away with 14 championship points – a tidy return for a driver who had to split his attention between two different cars and two different roles as Hadjar recovered.
Back to Racing Bulls, back to Baku
Now he returns to Racing Bulls on a full‑time basis, and with it comes something he hasn’t enjoyed for weeks: clarity.
No more juggling simulator work and set‑up discussions between the senior Red Bull outfit and its sister team. No more uncertainty over which garage he will walk into on a Thursday. Lawson can lock in on one car, one crew, one mission.
The setting could hardly be more symbolic. Baku is where he produced his best Formula 1 result to date, taking fifth at last year’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix after qualifying a superb third. The street circuit rewards nerve and precision, and Lawson has already shown he can thread that needle around the walls of the Caspian city.
He climbs back into the Racing Bulls cockpit this week knowing exactly what that place feels like when everything clicks.
Constructors’ fight tightening
While Lawson has been on loan duty, Racing Bulls have watched their buffer in the constructors’ standings shrink.
Their advantage over Alpine has been trimmed to just 11 points. A disciplinary twist earlier in the season – Pierre Gasly being stripped of his Monaco Grand Prix podium – had handed Racing Bulls a significant boost, but that cushion has steadily eroded in Lawson’s absence.
Now the margin is thin enough that every point in Baku matters. For the team, it is about holding off a resurgent rival. For Lawson, it is about reinforcing his case in a crowded Red Bull driver pipeline.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend starts a day earlier than usual, with track action beginning on Thursday night (NZT) after organisers moved the schedule forward to avoid clashing with the country’s annual remembrance day on September 27.
Lawson arrives with form, familiarity, and a circuit that already carries good memories. The question now is whether he can turn a strong audition into something more permanent in a paddock that rarely waits for anyone.
