Liam Lawson finds himself in somewhat familiar territory with his demotion to Racing Bulls ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix. Lawson’s road to Formula 1 hasn’t been the most fluid. After spending years as a reserve driver at Red Bull he finally got the call only to be cut short after two races. With that said, his performance now is more important than ever before. Lawson has the opportunity to show Red Bull they made a mistake and if Lawson can consistently outperform Tsunoda the board will have a very awkward and difficult decision to make.
There is no doubt that Lawson deserves a seat in Formula 1. In his short tenure he has shown multiple strokes of brilliance until the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season. Lawson still has a Formula 1 seat and needs to use this opportunity to leave his best on the track because if things don’t pan out with the Racing Bulls Lawson may find himself out of a job with a very small chance of ever getting another.
In a social media post Lawson said, “Being a Red Bull Racing driver has been my dream since I was a kid, it’s what I’ve worked towards my whole life. It’s tough, but I’m grateful for everything that’s brought me to this point. To every one of you who’s stood by me, thank you for all the support, it means the world.”
His performance in Japan could set the tone for the rest of the year and the pressure to perform will be on as long as Red Bull continues its search for a driver that can match the performance of Max Verstappen.