THE FACTS
What a difference a month makes.
Having waltzed into the summer break with back-to-back points finishes, and three in his past four races, Zandvoort will be a huge “what if?” for Kiwi driver Liam Lawson and Racing Bulls.
A collision with Carlos Sainz relegated Lawson from seventh to the back of the grid, where he eventually crossed the line in 13th – upgraded to 12th after a penalty for Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli.
However, a maiden podium for teammate and Red Bull promotion rival Isack Hadjar made Lawson’s result all the worse, as the Frenchman took a huge stride in the race to partner Max Verstappen in 2026.
Here’s what we learned at Zandvoort.
It had been five grands prix – not including the Belgium sprint race – since Hadjar had scored a point.
But make no mistake, what happened over the past two days in particular was the perfect response.
Firstly, by qualifying in fourth, with a staggering effort on Sunday, but by holding that position for most of the 72-lap affair. And when Lando Norris’ engine gave out, Hadjar stood on the podium for the first time as a Formula One driver.
It won’t be the last.
It’s been said many times in 2025, but now more than ever, Hadjar looks like the real deal. To make his feat all the more impressive, he wasn’t able to practise in the second session on Friday, in his first time at Zandvoort.
If Red Bull hasn’t already made its decision over 2026 driver line-ups, he is now surely at the head of the queue.
When asked earlier this season about his chances at a Red Bull promotion, Hadjar said very clearly that he didn’t feel he was ready.
This time, when asked after the race, his answer was very different: “I’m ready for anything.”
While he wouldn’t likely have challenged for the podium, Lawson’s collision with Sainz robbed him of what should have been a very good result.
The three drivers who failed to finish ahead of the race – Lando Norris, Sir Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc – were all ahead of the Kiwi at the time of their exits.
And while, yes, these things don’t always play out mathematically, at the very least Lawson should have been contending for fifth place, had he not been taken out.
That fifth-place finish was taken by Williams’ Alex Albon, who had started down in 15th.
Had Lawson been able to stay where he was, Racing Bulls could have, and should have, taken control of the battle for the midfield.
However, what we do know is that the Racing Bulls car doesn’t just score points, it scores podiums.
Blame, then, must lie at the feet of Sainz.
As the race restarted following a safety car, the Williams driver saw his opportunity at the outside of turn one – and like any driver worth his salt, he went for it.
However, the move just wasn’t there. At no point was Sainz the lead car, he was never level with Lawson, who was unfortunate to suffer a snap of oversteer that saw his back wheel collide with Sainz’s front.
But regardless, that was Lawson’s corner. He was the lead car, it was up to Sainz – despite his protest, and a legion of social media followers now adding Lawson to their hit list – to give the Kiwi room while attempting to overtake safely.
Sainz’s race audio heard him telling his race engineer that he’d be paying the stewards a visit after the finish. He won’t like what he’d have heard.
As the paddock arrived in the Netherlands for the weekend, Lawson sat down with Sky Sports UK and made an admission about his aims in the sport: “The dream I’ve had since I was 5 years old has been [to be] world champion,” he said.
“It has been winning in Formula One and reaching the top of the sport, and I think that’s more or less where my dream sits, where my goal is trying to become the best.
“That’s what we’re all working towards. I think where I do that is not so clear, as much as I thought it was.”
That last sentence is telling. For the first time – publicly anyway – Lawson has admitted his future might lie outside of Red Bull. In the context of what’s happened this year, that’s a huge statement.
For as long as he’s been chasing a spot in Formula One, Lawson has been very vocal about his commitment to Red Bull. They’ve backed him through his junior categories, as well as Japan’s Super Formula Championship before Formula One.
But to publicly put on record that he might not see his future with Red Bull – and by association Racing Bulls – is huge.
In terms of next year, the Herald understands the plan is currently for Lawson to stay with the junior team, with Hadjar now front and centre for promotion.
Beyond that, there’s still plenty of water to go under the bridge as to what a next move could look like.
Audi and Williams were both interested in the Kiwi last year, only for him to commit to Red Bull.
However, if Lawson himself doesn’t see a path to being a world champion where he is, it only makes sense to look elsewhere.
It’s been a tough year for Yuki Tsunoda. What should have been his dream move into Red Bull has eventuated into a nightmare.
But amid the chaos at Zandvoort, the Red Bull second driver crossed the line ninth, and scored his first points in seven grands prix in the process.
Not since taking 10th in Imola had Tsunoda scored any points, albeit with this finish greatly mitigated by the chaos in front of him.
Tsunoda will still be looking over his shoulder at Lawson and Hadjar – both of whom are outperforming him in what’s supposed to be an inferior car.
For Kiwis, it’s easy to look at Tsunoda as the bad guy, the culprit responsible for taking Lawson’s seat when he was at his lowest.
That’s not the case, though. So while it might be easy to laugh at Tsunoda, spare a thought for a driver who’s arguably been stitched up by Red Bull as much as Lawson was, with no guarantees over his future.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.