On top of that, teammate Isack Hadjar – widely tipped for promotion in 2026 – could only take 10th, having qualified eighth.
Red Bull stablemate Max Verstappen claimed his fourth win of the season, as Yuki Tsunoda took sixth, with his own future on the line.
Here’s what we learned in Baku.
No team orders
If reports are to be believed, we’re going to see Lawson versus Tsunoda for the second year in a row. But while 2024 was about them pushing for Red Bull promotion, round two will see both drivers competing for their future.
Herald sources initially indicated it would be Lawson who would stay at Racing Bulls next year. However, that information came when Christian Horner was team principal, before he was sacked after the British Grand Prix.
New team boss Laurent Mekies, having worked with Tsunoda at Racing Bulls, is understood to be more sympathetic to the Japanese driver’s cause.
What’s more, as the pair battled for fifth place on track in Baku, the fact there was no orders from Red Bull to see Lawson let Tsunoda pass said everything.
In Brazil last year, Lawson was instructed to let Verstappen pass, as the Dutchman went from 17th to first, showing that despite being independent teams, Red Bull are prepared to make use of their sister side.
By not taking any preference between Lawson and Tsunoda – on track – Red Bull might have just confirmed they want to see the pair fighting where possible, as both look to snatch a place at Racing Bulls in 2026.
Red Bull adviser Dr Helmut Marko has already said no decision about its senior team driver line-up will be made until the end of October.
But at this rate, its junior side’s line-up might not be decided until Abu Dhabi.
Defend for your life
Already this year, we’ve seen that Lawson can defend with the best of them. In Hungary, he kept Verstappen in his mirrors to hold on to eighth place before the summer break.
Baku, though, was on another level.
Despite dropping from third to fifth, Lawson was only overtaken on track once – coming after he switched his medium tyres for hards and lost out to Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.
Antonelli had just made the same switch himself two laps earlier, meaning his tyres were warmer and allowing himself to overtake Lawson as he came out of the pits.
However, Mercedes only pitted Antonelli early because he couldn’t get around Lawson in the first stint.
Once Lawson was up to temperature, he was able to keep his position. Even with Tsunoda, Lando Norris and the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton behind him, Lawson held firm.
In Monaco, Lawson earned the nickname “the shield” for his work in creating a gap for teammate Hadjar to pit twice. This time, that nickname was more apt than it had been on the streets of Monte Carlo.
Hadjar throws his toys
Considering Red Bull boss Mekies has said the decision to who partners Verstappen next year won’t come down to one specific result, Hadjar can be thankful this weekend won’t appear to harm his chances.
Of the seven separate sessions – three practices, three qualifyings and the race itself – Lawson was the faster car in six and deservedly finished clear of his teammate.
Right through the junior categories, Hadjar had picked up a reputation of being petulant when things didn’t go his way.
And while we hadn’t yet seen it in 2025, thanks largely to most results going his way, Baku gave a glimpse of Hadjar reverting to type.
Throughout this season, when faced with any disappointment, Lawson has made a point of expressing his happiness at seeing Hadjar and the rest of the Racing Bulls team succeed.
When the roles were reversed, though, there was no reciprocation from Hadjar to Lawson.
As much as it is a team sport, Formula One is inherently selfish. Hadjar isn’t the first driver to put himself first and won’t be the last.
But if he’s expected to partner Verstappen next year, can Red Bull really tolerate a driver not being willing to play the team game?
Yuki domino falls?
While his future is still up in the air, there could already be clues that Tsunoda’s place might just be away from Red Bull.
As a Japanese driver, Tsunoda’s position with either of Red Bull’s two teams has largely been in part to his backing from engine supplier Honda.
When Lawson and Tsunoda were switched for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka – Honda’s home race – it’s understood that an annual eight-figure sum paid to Red Bull was doubled to ensure their driver was in the top side.
Next year, though, Honda parts ways with Red Bull, who will instead make their own engines in conjunction with Ford. That means if Tsunoda is to stay, it has to be on his own merits.
There is another avenue potentially opening for Tsunoda though.
While out of Red Bull, Honda will switch to Aston Martin, who will attempt to mount a charge for the drivers’ and constructors’ championship.
Aston Martin’s current reserve driver, former Formula Two champion Felipe Drugovich, has just signed on to drive for Andretti in the 2025/26 Formula E season.
That, in theory, opens up a space at Aston Martin – admittedly a reserve spot – for someone to take, given the current pair of Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, son of team owner Lawrence Stroll, are in no danger of losing their spots.
And yet, Alonso is 44 and beginning to make noises that 2026 might be his last year.
If Tsunoda does lose his place at Red Bull, going to Aston Martin, first as a reserve and then fulltime in 2026, would be the perfect way to stay in Formula One.
Lindblad isn’t ready
Of course, there could also be a route to both Lawson and Tsunoda lining up alongside each other next year.
Much of the speculation that there is just one seat at Racing Bulls up for grabs stems from the rapid rise of Red Bull junior Arvid Lindblad.
Currently in Formula Two, Lindblad was earlier this year given an exemption to gain his Formula One super licence before his 18th birthday, in case Red Bull were forced into a reshuffle – if Verstappen picked up a race ban.
And while that never eventuated, it did show Red Bull’s hand. They want Lindblad in their car, sooner rather than later.
However, while the potential is clearly there, signs that Lindblad might not be ready are also present.
Twelve rounds into the Formula Two season, Lindblad is seventh in the championship, three points back from fellow Red Bull junior Pepe Marti, despite picking up two wins.
However, he was also found to be at fault for two incidents in Monaco, disqualified in Belgium, penalised in Hungary and crashed into another driver at Monza.
While the talent is there, it’s becoming more apparent that Lindblad could use another year in Formula Two.
So far this year, we’ve seen the risk of promoting drivers too early, as Mercedes have done with Antonelli.
Red Bull should pay very close attention to what’s happening down the pit lane from them, when potentially torpedoing one of their own drivers’ careers to rush their next big thing into Formula One, no matter how promising he might be.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.
