Formula 1: Liam Lawson shrugs off Red Bull demotion, looks ahead to Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Being dropped two races into his career with Red Bull’s senior team hasn’t impacted Liam Lawson’s confidence, the Kiwi Formula One driver has declared.

Lawson, 23, was the latest victim of Red Bull’s ruthless driver merry-go-round and was switched for former teammate Yuki Tsunoda after the Chinese Grand Prix at Shanghai.

The pair spent the end of 2024 battling to impress Red Bull to slot in alongside Max Verstappen. And while Lawson initially won that race, Red Bull senior team principal Christian Horner has since admitted they’d asked too much, too soon of the New Zealander.

In a sport as high stakes as Formula One, any driver would be within their rights to take a knock to their self-esteem after such a move. Lawson had spent his whole career trying to earn a drive with Red Bull, after signing for the team as a teenager.

However, to see that cut short after just two races is a move that has been dubbed as unfair across the Formula One paddock.

Now, Lawson is back with Racing Bulls, the team in which he raced 11 grands prix for, before his promotion to start the new season.

In those 11 races, spread across two seasons after replacing Australian Daniel Ricciardo, twice, Lawson achieved three different points finishes, coming ninth in Singapore, Austin and Brazil.

This year, though, Lawson is still adjusting to Racing Bulls’ VCARB02, and has finished outside the points in both Japan and Bahrain.

On Monday (NZT), Lawson will look to break that duck in Saudi Arabia, as the final race of Formula One’s triple header of three races in three weeks.

And speaking to media at the start of the race weekend, Lawson outlined that there hasn’t been any long-term damage.

“Honestly, confidence-wise, nothing really changed from the start of the year,” he said in Jeddah.

“I didn’t spend anywhere near enough time [at Red Bull] for me to reflect on those two races and go, ‘oh my god, I’ve really struggled in this car, I’ve lost my ability’. It wasn’t really like that.

“I did two races that were two very messy weekends from a lot of factors, but I think confidence-wise that didn’t really change.

“It’s just been about getting used to a new car again, and the team, and trying to do all that as quickly as possible. I think that’s really been where the focus is at.

“Confidence-wise I feel, honestly, as I always have.”

If there’s any example to show Lawson’s confidence remains intact, look no further than his drive in Bahrain.

While the Kiwi was hit by two separate penalties, for collisions with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg, both came as a result of attempting to pull off late braking overtakes.

On both occasions, Lawson went wheel to wheel into corners, looking to brake late, gain an advantage, and accelerate out.

And although he finished 16th once penalties were applied, Lawson’s display in Bahrain should give both himself and Racing Bulls hope that results are achievable this season, as already evidenced by teammate Isack Hadjar.

Racing Bulls team principal Laurent Mekies described Lawson as having made “a very significant step forward” over the course of the race weekend.

Helping Lawson’s confidence even further is his results at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in junior categories.

In 2021, on his first visit there, Lawson finished second in the Formula Two sprint race. A year later, he won that same race.

However, given there are such small gaps between teams fighting for midfield positions this year, Lawson won’t predict how things will unfold this weekend.

“Naturally, each weekend we spend in the car, me personally, I get more comfortable,” he said.

“As a team, we work out things that suit us best. Bahrain was more competitive for us, we just didn’t show it. That’s a good feeling coming here.

“But at the same time, it’s a very different track. [It’s a] different surface, completely high speeds. That’ll be a big adjustment.

“The midfield is so tight right now, it’s so hard to predict where we sit with everyone else. The difference between a tenth [of a second] is quite a few positions.

“We’re optimistic, we’re pushing hard, but it’s very hard to say where we’re going to slot in with everyone else at the moment.”

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix begins at 5am on Monday morning (NZT).

Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.