Formula 1: Liam Lawson still processing Red Bull demotion after two races

New Zealand Formula One driver Liam Lawson admits he’s still processing his demotion from Red Bull just two races into the season, saying he wasn’t given enough time to adjust.

After disappointing performances at the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix, Lawson was relegated to sister team Racing Bulls – and Yuki Tsunoda promoted to partner Max Verstappen.

Christian Horner, then the Red Bull Racing boss, conceded it was a mistake to promote the 23-year-old so soon to replace Sergio Perez, having just 13 Formula One races under his belt as a reserve driver.

While there have been some hurdles, Lawson has continued to work hard with Racing Bulls, claiming a career-best finish of sixth in Austria and he now sits two points ahead of Tsunoda in the Drivers’ Championship at the midway point of the season.

Lawson concedes he has still been far from perfect but believes he’s in a strong position to push for more points in the final 12 races of the season.

Speaking with F1.com, Lawson says he still thinks about the demotion often and is hopeful he will have time soon to reflect on what’s happened.

“It’s been a lot,” said Lawson. “The start of the year, [we had] the big shake-up with the team switch, and then not really having the time to get to grips with things, racing every weekend, and trying to be at the level that I need to be at.

“It’s been very heavily speculated that my confidence took a hit and stuff like this, which is completely false. From the start of the year, I felt the same as I always have.

“I think in two races, on tracks I’d never been to, it’s not really enough for my confidence ... maybe six months into a season, if I’m still at that level, if the results are still like that, then I’d be feeling something – maybe my confidence would be taking a hit.

“The biggest thing going into a team like that, in a car like that ... it was going to take a bit of time to adjust and learn. With no proper testing, the issues in testing, the issues in Melbourne through practice ... it wasn’t smooth and clean. I needed time and I wasn’t given it.”

It took six races with Racing Bulls for Lawson to finish inside the points with an eighth-placed finish in Monaco and two races later, he secured his sixth place in Austria.

Even though it’s been a rollercoaster season for Lawson, he remains committed to keep improving for the rest of the season and is not focusing on what the future holds.

The latest speculation is that Lawson will likely be retained by Red Bull for the 2026 season, while Tsunoda will be moved on.

“Here, you’re forced to basically come out of a race weekend, especially on a triple-header, have a day to think about what just happened, and then you’re straight away thinking about the next race,” Lawson said.

“I don’t know if it’s healthy or not healthy, but you just think about F1, the performance and the result. I sit here now and we’re nearly mid-July.

“The year has just gone. The fact we’ve done 12 races is insane, and they’ve just gone by like that.”

The Formula One season resumes next weekend in Belgium, followed by the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Since the last race at Silverstone, Horner was sacked by Red Bull.

Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.