Source: Radio New Zealand
New Zealand F1 driver Liam Lawson. MPS AGENCY / PHOTOSPORT
Analysis: New Zealand driver Liam Lawson can probably afford to sit back and take a couple of deep breaths following the 2025 Formula 1 season, but he won’t have long to relax.
If the 23-year-old thought he was under pressure in his first full season in the sport’s elite competition, the intensity will climb to another level next season.
Lawson’s job is far from secure even in 2026.
Red Bull have not revealed the length of the new contracts for Lawson, Isack Hadjar or Arvid Lindblad, while Max Verstappen’s deal runs until the end of the 2028 championship.
It is likely that Lawson is on a one-year deal again, meaning he has to more than prove himself to stay beyond the end of next year.
He is now also the senior driver at Racing Bulls and therefore needs to be the one leading the team on the points table, anything less and his Formula 1 career will be over.
“Liam Lawson has got to get a result next year,” F1 commentator Alex Jacques said following the Red Bull driver line-up announcement.
“It is really well put from Alan Permane, (Racing Bulls team principal) peaks and troughs will not cut it in a second full season.
“He is going to have to find consistency that is higher and make the most of this brilliant opportunity that has been given to him.”
New Zealand driver Liam Lawson of Visa Cash App RB F1 Team. Eric Alonso / PHOTOSPORT
Red Bull obviously see something in Lawson and they are now hoping to nurture it.
“Liam is talented, he’s very talented, and my mission will be to get him to operate at the level he can operate at when things are all working for him,” Permane told F1.
“In some of the most difficult situations we’ve had this year such as Vegas Qualifying or Baku Qualifying, he’s excelled – and he’s having some really strong races. I know he’s capable of that and he knows he’s capable of that and I just want to work with him to get him at that level every single time he goes in the car.”
Lawson struggled early on in 2025 driving the first two rounds with Red Bull before being demoted to Racing Bulls.
It wasn’t until the eighth round in Monaco that he picked up his first points and while he finished fifth in Azerbaijan and sixth in Austria, there were plenty of times where he was unable to make an impression on the top ten.
That won’t be acceptable in 2026, but what car Racing Bulls is able to produce next year will be a key.
New regulations come into force with the cars smaller and lighter with different aerodynamics and there will be an increase in electrification in the power unit.
Commentators are expecting the Mercedes powered cars (Mercedes, McLaren, Williams and Alpine) to get up to speed quickly in 2026 but there is a question mark surrounding Red Bull who will leave Honda and will produce their own power units with the help of Ford.
It is also worth noting that Red Bull kept Yuki Tsunoda on as their test and reserve driver for 2026 meaning they have someone who is capable of stepping back into one of their cars at short notice if any of the other three (Hadjar, Lawson and Linblad) have any problems.
Liam Lawson during qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix in Doha. AFP
The championship will be decided this weekend in Abu Dhabi with Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri all in contention.
For Lawson it is another opportunity to pick up points and thank the bosses for putting faith in him.
“I’m very excited to finish off the season in Abu Dhabi, after a strong finish in the points at the weekend.
“It’s a hugely enjoyable track which I raced at for the first time in Formula One back in 2021.
“We had strong race pace in Qatar, which we hope to take into the final race as we continue our fight for P6 in the Constructors’.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
