THE FACTS
Given the circumstances, that was probably as good as Liam Lawson could have hoped for.
Having qualified in 20th, but effectively upgraded to 17th by the time the lights went out, the Kiwi endured a frustrating day at Monza, even if he was able to cross the finish line 14th.
But it could have been so different. Racing Bulls clearly had the pace to do well at Monza, but were hampered by poor qualifying efforts from both cars.
Even so, Isack Hadjar backing up his Zandvoort podium with a point for 10th place – having started in the pits – was another reminder of where the Kiwi stands.
Here’s what we learned at Monza.
Of the 20 drivers, 19 when you count Nico Hulkenberg retiring on the formation lap, Lawson was the only to start on the soft tyre.
Yes, the speed advantage saw him gain two positions on the opening lap.
However, that was offset by the fact his tyres lasted just 10 laps, before forcing Lawson to pit and finish the race on hards.
By the time any other drivers pitted, Lawson’s new hard tyres were more than 10 laps old, which left him vulnerable to cars on fresh sets, seen when Ollie Bearman and Yuki Tsunoda both got around him.
Lawson has shown on more than one occasion that he can make one-stop strategies work. Of his four points finishes this year, three came on one-stops. In fact, the only points finish that wasn’t a one-stop came in Monaco, where a two-stop was mandated.
In Austin last year, Lawson started 19th on hards, ran long, before switching to mediums and coming home ninth. The fact that a similar strategy wasn’t used at Monza should at the very least lead to some scrutiny of Racing Bulls’ plans.
Starting in front of his teammate, Lawson should have been on Racing Bulls’ best strategy.
Instead, you can’t help but scratch your head at the tactics at play. While Lawson started on softs, Hadjar was given a set of hards, and was able to use the same plans mentioned above.
The result? Another points finish for Hadjar, this one after starting in the pits.
Monza isn’t the first time Hadjar has been given the better strategy behind Lawson either. The same thing happened in Saudi Arabia earlier this year, where Lawson started 12th to Hadjar’s 14th.
For as long as Formula One has existed, teams have been torn between the balance of their two drivers. Do you have a defined No 1 and No 2? Or give them the freedom to battle as twin No 1s?
As Red Bull’s junior side, it would make sense for Racing Bulls to be the former. However, it’s becoming clearer that the latter might be what’s in place.
And at a time where the pair’s futures are still to be decided, Hadjar is getting the rub of the green.
It seems to be said each week, but the rise and rise of Hadjar has been the underlying theme of 2025.
Nothing in the Frenchman’s junior career had suggested he was capable of hitting the heights he has so far. In fact, it’s understood he was only seen as a stop gap at Racing Bulls, until Formula Two prospect Arvid Lindblad was ready to step up.
Now, he’s the front runner to partner Max Verstappen next season.
However, one trait from his junior career, that had so far appeared to have eluded Hadjar this season, reared its head at Monza.
In Formula Three and Formula Two, Hadjar was known for being at times erratic, and petulant at the worst.
So when Hadjar was eliminated in the first stage of qualifying for the first time in his career, he made sure his feelings were known.
In particular, the 20-year-old took aim at Williams’ Carlos Sainz, who appeared to take up time on track when not attempting to better his qualifying mark.
“The out lap was a mess with Carlos,” he said. “He was just playing around a lot, and then let me by.
“I don’t know why he even went out on track in the first place, on used tyres to just cruise around. I don’t know what was the point.
“He was playing around, trying to make my life difficult on my out lap, and then not really letting me by properly. I just don’t know what he was doing.”
Regardless, Hadjar remains out in front in the race to win that second Red Bull seat.
Another point takes him into ninth in the drivers championship, now 18 points clear of Lawson, and 26 in front of Yuki Tsunoda.
Meanwhile, spare a thought for Tsunoda. After qualifying 10th and starting ninth, the Japanese driver again failed to score points – in the same car that his teammate won in.
At the start of the weekend, Red Bull team boss Laurent Mekies was asked about the prospect of a mid-season switch, seeing Tsunoda out and Hadjar in.
And while he couldn’t initially answer the question, Mekies did clarify a day later that Red Bull would not change its driver lineups again this year.
With a week off in between, the 10 teams will reconvene in Azerbaijan later this month.
As far as junior categories go, Lawson has a mixed record in Baku.
A Formula Two sprint race podium in 2022 goes alongside finishes of seventh and sixth a year previous, and a 15th for good measure.
However, Baku is also the only remaining race this year that Lawson has not driven in a Formula One car, with Singapore, Austin, Mexico, Brazil, Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi to come.
What’s more, he’s scored points on three of those – Singapore, Austin and Brazil.
If Lawson can get through Baku without any major trouble, there’s no reason why he can’t finish 2025 on the right note.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.