Follow the action from free practice one and two ahead of Formula One’s Melbourne Grand Prix.
By Alex Powell in Melbourne
He might not say it himself, but Liam Lawson can quietly be content that his place in Formula One is no longer in any doubt.
For the first three years of his career in motorsport’s pinnacle, the Kiwi’s time in a race seat has always been undercut by his status as a fulltime driver.
In 2023, his five-race cameo as an injury replacement was undercut by the fact there was no seat for him to take, regardless of how well he did.
A year later, Lawson’s place was again subject to speculation over which team he would race for, as six grands prix earned him rapid promotion to Red Bull’s senior ranks.
He was then demoted to junior side Racing Bulls just two races into the 2025 season, and spent the rest of the year proving he deserved to remain on the grid, beating out the challenge of Yuki Tsunoda to do so.
But as a new season begins in Melbourne this weekend, Lawson’s importance to his team takes on new meaning.
For a start, his driver feedback will be key in helping develop Racing Bulls’ car after sweeping new regulations. Biggest of all, he’s cemented firmly as his team’s lead driver alongside Arvid Lindblad, the only rookie on the 2026 grid.
But asked if he feels his career is now in a safer place than it was six months ago, Lawson outlined that he has bigger fish to fry than his job security.
“Honestly, I’ve never really looked at it too much like that,” he said. “I’ve been in and around the sport for a long time, but it’s not something I think too much about.
“I’m just focused on the races ahead this year. The new cars this year are the only thing we’ve been thinking about.
“On a personal level, it’s good to have a full pre-season and know the direction we’re going with in development.
“I’m just looking forward to getting on track and getting things started.”
Arguably, the biggest tick in the box of Lawson remaining on the Formula One grid comes off the track.
As Red Bull as an organisation underwent huge changes throughout 2025, none was perhaps more significant than the departure of long-time adviser, Dr Helmut Marko.
Since Red Bull’s entry as a side in 2004, Marko has for the most part pulled the strings for the team, before the junior side were formed two years later – firstly as Toro Rosso, then AlphaTauri and now Racing Bulls.
It was Marko who instigated the swap that saw an 18-year-old Max Verstappen move from Toro Rosso into Red Bull mid-season, and also pulled at threads that saw Lawson replace Daniel Ricciardo in 2024.
However, after former team principal Christian Horner said Lawson’s demotion from Red Bull wasn’t his decision, it’s widely understood Marko had played a role in that brutal call.
And given Melbourne 2026 will be the first race in Red Bull or Racing Bulls’ history in which Marko wasn’t part of either side, Lawson said while his absence hasn’t been noticeable as of yet, the team are confident with what they have.
“To be fair, other than testing, we haven’t really been trackside,” he added. “He was somebody who’s been very powerful in my career, especially in the early years as part of the junior programme.
“This is the first time we’ve been at a racetrack since the end of last year. For us, the way our team works internally is very similar to how we finished last year.
“I think we feel in a pretty good position.”
Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix begins at 5pm (NZT).
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.