For Liam Lawson, the first “triple header” of Formula 2025 1 came at just the right time – so he didn’t have to worry about the failed Red Bull deal
Liam Lawson hardly took any time to reflect on what happened after his premature departure from Red Bull in the Formula 1 triple header. Instead, the New Zealander was immediately busy with his comeback at Racing Bulls – and in retrospect, that may have been the best thing that could have happened to him.
“To be honest, you want more time to process things. But in some ways, it was probably good for my head to just race and not have time to think about anything else,” said the 23-year-old ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.
After just two races in the Red Bull RB21, Lawson had to make way for Yuki Tsunoda, with whom he shares the cockpit. The reason: poor performances in Bahrain and Australia, as well as the realization that Lawson clearly needed more time to come to terms with the demanding Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen.
Little time to think, lots of time in the cockpit
After the swap, Lawson went straight into the intense “triple header”: Suzuka, Sakhir, Jeddah – three completely different tracks where he first had to get to know the VCARB 02. He hasn’t scored any points yet. He is also still slightly behind Isack Hadjar within the team.
But Lawson believes that staying focused has helped: “Three weekends in a row in the car was probably good for me. Now it was useful to have a week off to process everything and come back with a stronger mindset.”
He used the break before Miami to recharge mentally. “It’s been a really intense few months, especially with the triple header. I can’t change anything that’s happened now.”
VCARB 02: Confidence is there, pace not quite yet
Lawson says he feels increasingly comfortable with the current Racing Bulls car. The big challenge now is to find those last few tenths on unfamiliar tracks like Miami. In the tightly packed midfield of Formula 1 in 2025, that can mean the difference between Q1 elimination and Q3 qualification.
“I’m working on getting the most out of the car. We’ve had three completely different tracks now, and here in Miami I’m trying to prepare as well as possible,“ he explains.
”I felt very comfortable in Jeddah and in Bahrain too. In terms of comfort, it suits me. Now it’s about learning new tracks quickly and optimizing them.”
