Formula One pundit Mark Fogarty says Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls car is better than the one he was in when he started the season with Red Bull – but he warned of the danger presented by Lawson’s Racing Bulls teammate.
The Kiwi has experienced the full spectrum of Grand Prix racing from making Q3 and being in the points to clashing with fellow drivers and experiencing mechanical issues.
“He’s doing a very good job in arguably a better car than the actual Red Bull itself,” Fogarty told the Weekend Herald. “He’s making good use of the Racing Bull (or whatever it’s called this year). He is, though, being outshone by his teammate [Isack Hadjar].
“Lawson has justified his place in Formula One, and I think he’s a bit of a slow burn. He’s not out-of-the-box super-talented – well, not at this level anyway, as he clearly was in his junior days. At the moment, he’s justifying his place in the field, and he’s certainly the best New Zealand prospect to come along in a very long time.”
Heading into the Italian Grand Prix this weekend, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri has a buffer of 32 points over his nearest rival, and teammate, Lando Norris.
Piastri has been almost imperious in his march towards his first F1 title. The Australian sits at the top of the points table on 309 with nine races to go, followed by Norris (275), Max Verstappen (205), George Russell (184) and Charles Leclerc (151).
It’s certainly a change of guard, with the top five drivers in the championship having an average age of just 26. Of the five, Piastri is the youngest at 24 and has finished off the podium just twice in the 15 races this year, collecting seven wins, a further six podiums and five poles.
The numbers alone indicate Piastri is the dominant driver in 2025.
“He really is doing the job,” said Fogarty. “He’s been doing a great job all year, and he’s in the best car with what is now the best team.
“The results speak for themselves, and he is the real deal. You can’t quite say he’s champion-elect just yet, but he’s well on his way.
“He won the Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula 3, Formula 2 championships and, in F1, he’s leading the championship after finishing fourth last year and ninth the year before. He’s proven he belongs in F1.
“He has an old, wise head on young shoulders. There are no histrionics, and he’s got exceptional control of his emotions. There is certainly no sign of him being a wild child, like a James Hunt or Eddie Irvine. He’s more in the mould of an Alain Prost or Niki Lauda.
“It’s his methodical nature, and how he uses that to get the best of his exceptional talent,” Fogarty added.
“He has a very good feel for the car and how to extract the most performance from the car. I think Piastri, like Prost, very much makes the car do all the hard work for him.
“Norris is more naturally talented, but he makes mistakes. He’s not as disciplined as Piastri is, but that’s not to say that Piastri is not an extraordinarily talented racing driver - he is. He’s at that rarefied level of ability and also a thinker.”
Lawson sits 14th equal on the points table with Pierre Gasley on 20 points, with Hadjar 10th on 37. Lawson is within striking distance of Esteban Ocon (28) and Fernando Alonso (30), and ahead of Carlos Sainz (16) and former teammate Yuki Tsunoda (12).