And despite late hopes after a Max Verstappen penalty, Lawson had to settle for 11th place, to bring this triple-header block of races to an end.
Here’s what we learned from Barcelona:
Elbow room
While an 11th-place finish might not do much for the average fan in terms of points, the way Lawson drove in Barcelona was another example that he’s close to finding his best form.
Already this season, Lawson has been penalised four times – twice in Bahrain, once in Saudi Arabia and once in Miami – for risky overtakes on track.
In Barcelona, though, things went his way – until the safety car.
On lap 26, Lawson and Albon clashed, when the Kiwi had the better of the Williams into the braking zone at turn one, and held his ground, won, and inflicted damage to his opponent’s front wing.
For his part, Albon was handed a 10-second penalty, and retired from the race once it was served.
Then, on lap 31 at the exact same part of the track, Lawson tangled with Haas’ Ollie Bearman. A turn one collision again saw no penalty for the Kiwi, before he eventually got his man on lap 36.
Lawson has always been an aggressive driver, that’s why Red Bull put faith in him to partner Verstappen at the start of this year.
However, his confidence is clearly on the way back after a career-best result finish in Monaco last month.
Racing Bulls’ pace is there
While Lawson missing the points from such a strong position will be disappointing, how he and teammate Isack Hadjar drove across the Grand Prix weekend is another huge tick in the positives column.
Across all three practice sessions, Lawson finished in the top 10. Then, in the first qualifying session, Lawson put up the eighth-fastest time, before a small mistake saw him knocked out in the second.
Compared to their senior Red Bull stablemates, this Racing Bulls car is now appearing to be a better all-round package. It’s only the brilliance of Verstappen that sees Red Bull anywhere near the front of the grid.
With 15 races still to go this season, starting after a two-week break, don’t be shocked to see the two Racing Bulls cars picking up more and more points as the year goes on.
How long can Red Bull ignore Hadjar?
It’s now getting to the point where Red Bull’s hand could be forced.
Following a dire weekend for the team that this time last year was in control of the constructors’ championship, it won’t be long before the desire for change will present itself.
Barcelona’s results mean Red Bull are fourth in the constructors’ championship. Despite the promise of Yuki Tsunoda being an upgrade on Lawson after the Chinese Grand Prix, he’s 127 points off Max Verstappen – in the same car.
If they want an immediate fix, while always impossible to guarantee, right now, it’s Isack Hadjar.
While he might trail Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in terms of points, Hadjar has without question been the most impressive rookie of the 2025 season so far.
The 20-year-old has now scored points finishes in five races, more than Lawson and Tsunoda combined.
Given Red Bull’s ruthless nature of swapping drivers, do not be surprised if Hadjar moves up sooner rather than later.
What does Hadjar’s success mean for Lawson?
Naturally, though, if Hadjar does advance, that would effectively spell the end of Lawson’s hopes at Red Bull for the foreseeable future.
Verstappen has said he’ll be with the team in 2026 and is contracted with the organisation until the end of 2028.
If it is Hadjar who wins the race to partner Verstappen, Lawson will be stuck between a rock and hard place.
Yes, staying at Racing Bulls in 2026 would be a good result for Lawson and would allow him more time to gain valuable experience in motorsport’s pinnacle.
But, as was seen with Pierre Gasly after he was dropped back to then-AlphaTauri, there is next to no way back into Red Bull once that door closes.
Even if staying with Racing Bulls in 2026 is a means of trying to impress another team for the future, it’s an opportunity that Lawson has to seize with both hands.
Lindblad continues to rise
Meanwhile, Red Bull prodigy Arvid Lindblad continues to go from strength to strength.
Already tipped to be on the grid next year – with Racing Bulls his likely destination – Lindblad showed his potential in Barcelona.
The 17-year-old claimed pole position in Formula Two’s feature race and turned it into his second victory of the season.
He now sits third in the Formula Two standings, with two victories.
As soon as he turns 18 in August, Lindblad will be able to acquire his super licence and be moved up into Formula One. Whether or not it happens straight away is moot – Lindblad will be a Formula One driver.
The only question is whose seat will he take? Five into four doesn’t go, and that equation effectively becomes four into three when considering Verstappen won’t be leaving any time soon.
Hadjar is also almost certainly safe, given his phenomenal start to life with Racing Bulls. That leaves an effective two-way shootout between Lawson and Tsunoda for the final place.
However, with Honda’s time as Red Bull’s engine supplier ending at the end of this season, there is little reason to keep Tsunoda unless results improve.
Make no mistake, there is still plenty to race for in 2025.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.
