Liam Lawson Returns to Racing Bulls After Red Bull Stint

Liam Lawson’s brief, bruising, and ultimately impressive spell in Red Bull colours is over. The Kiwi will be back in the familiar surrounds of the Visa Cash App Racing Bulls garage for this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, his super-sub duties complete.

The 24-year-old was drafted into the senior team in August, parachuted in when Isack Hadjar was sidelined with a wrist injury suffered over the summer break. It was a high-pressure audition in one of the most unforgiving seats in Formula 1. Lawson didn’t blink.

Across three races he banked 14 points, a tidy haul that underlined how far he has come since his last stint with Red Bull, when he was dropped after just two outings in a turbulent 2025 campaign. This time, the story felt very different: calm, composed, productive.

“The team would like to sincerely thank Liam for his professionalism, dedication and hard work over the past three races,” the statement read. “Stepping in under challenging circumstances, he delivered some impressive performances and made a valuable contribution to the team. We wish him all the best as he returns to Visa Cash App Racing Bulls.”

No drama. No controversy. Just a job well done and the door left firmly open.

Back in His Own Car

Now Lawson drops back into the cockpit where he started the year, carrying the confidence of a man who has just gone toe-to-toe in a front-running machine and held his own.

"It feels great to be back in my car alongside the team as we head to Baku," he said. "It has been a busy few weeks with the switch to Red Bull Racing, and I'm looking forward to getting back into the rhythm with the team and focusing on the weekend ahead."

The rhythm, crucially, was already there before his call-up. Lawson has been piecing together a strong season, rebuilding his reputation after that chaotic 2025. Ninth in the drivers’ championship, regularly at the sharp end of the midfield, scoring points with a consistency that once seemed out of reach — this is a very different version of the Kiwi to the one that struggled through his first shot at the big time.

His performances in the Red Bull only sharpened that picture.

A Manager’s Seal of Approval

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies did not hold back in his assessment after Lawson’s sixth-place finish at the Spanish Grand Prix — the standout result of his three-race run.

“I think he's done a very good job,” Mekies said. “I think we all know how difficult it is to jump to a different team, to a different car, and I think that he has done that to the best of what could have been our expectations.

“He has taken some very important points today with the P6. He did the same in Zandvoort and in Monza he would have done something similar without the contact with Nico [Hulkenberg] and the front wing damage.

“So, I think he did a very good job, again very different pictures compared to the first two races of 2025 when he was in the team so we are thankful and happy with that.”

Those are the sort of words that linger in memory when seats are discussed in the winter.

Baku and Beyond

For now, though, the focus narrows. Baku’s streets await, a high-speed maze where a driver’s confidence under braking and bravery on the throttle can transform a weekend.

Lawson returns there as a midfield leader, not a stand-in star. The target is clear: keep the momentum, keep scoring, keep reminding the paddock that his three-race cameo was not a one-off surge but a snapshot of his new baseline.

On-track action for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix begins tomorrow, with first practice at 10.30pm (NZT) and lights out for the race at 11pm on Saturday.

Lawson has had his taste of the front. The question now is simple: how long before that becomes his permanent address?