Lawson assesses his Red Bull super-sub stint as he prepares for Racing Bulls return in Baku

It’s back to business as usual for Liam Lawson in Azerbaijan this weekend as Isack Hadjar’s return to race fitness means that the Kiwi will be at the wheel of the VCARB 03 once more.

Lawson’s three-race stint at Red Bull Racing brought P7 in Zandvoort and P6 in Madrid, with a P14 after a frustrating weekend at Monza in between.

It was an unexpected bonus that in many ways allowed Lawson to exorcise the ghosts of 2025, when he was demoted from the senior team after just two outings, having had very little opportunity to showcase what he could do. However, he downplayed the suggestion that he’s proved a point when quizzed on his stint ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

“Maybe that's obviously for you guys to decide,” he said. “For me, I didn't come out of last year and question my ability to drive a race car.

"So it's nice that I've been able to obviously have those races and maybe show the rest of the world. But it didn't change anything for me, to be honest.”

However, on reflection, the New Zealander was satisfied with how his time with the Red Bull squad panned out.

“Mostly,” he said. “You always look at stuff and go, 'What could I have done better?'. And there's definitely things in there that could have been better.

“But considering a lot of the circumstances, honestly, I was pretty happy overall. I think two of the weekends were strong. [It] would have been nice to have three, but I think overall, it was good.”

With the 24-year-old now gearing up for his Racing Bulls return, he was quizzed on whether he is coming back with more confidence and more knowledge.

“Honestly, no, none of that really changes,” he explained. “For me, it's now just readjusting to my car again.

“I'm excited to be back in it, honestly, and sort of carry on the fight that we've been in the first half of the year. In terms of the rest of it, though, it doesn't really change too much.”

Lawson also made it clear from the start that the two cars require a very different approach, and there’s little he can apply to driving the Racing Bulls. However, he has gained some useful knowledge he can take with him.

“On the power unit side, potentially, but the rest of the car obviously is completely different,” he said. “I think it's very hard to compare. The only comparable part is really the powertrain.

“The thing is, at the moment, track-to-track, it's all completely different. So that's more of a challenge. But there's always other things you pick up.

“Even operationally, you noticed things that the two teams do differently – some things good that we do, some things good that they do – and I think that's been a good experience to learn from.”

Hadjar’s return to the cockpit in Baku has coincided with the confirmation that the French driver has retained his seat for 2027. That early announcement has not disappointed Lawson, who admitted that a full-time return to Red Bull was not on his radar.

“I wasn't meant to drive this year at Red Bull,” he said. “Obviously we've very much been in the fight with VCARB, and I wasn't really looking at that, to be honest.

“So it was great to do those races, it was challenging, honestly. But it didn't really change anything that I was thinking outside of that for next year. I think it's pretty standard – not surprising, I'd say.”

Even without his Red Bull stint, Lawson's performances this season have done more than enough to justify being retained for next year.

“For sure, I feel in a better position than I have done in in the past,” he added. “I think last year was definitely more difficult.

"It was more difficult to have sort of the consistency of results that this year we managed to honestly find, and that's been really, really good. So yeah, I feel better than I did last year. So hopefully that helps going into next year.”

The complication, however, is there’s a lot of momentum behind F2 star Nikola Tsolov, the next man in line for a graduation, and Red Bull have a big call to make in the coming weeks.

“Probably soon,” said Lawson on when he expects things to be confirmed. “I would say the next few races. This time of year is obviously when all of these decisions get made. So yeah, it's something that's obviously being discussed in the background.

“For me, it's not something I'm really discussing too much, but I'm just trying to the keep the string of points runs going.

“I think that was maybe what made the races at Red Bull a little bit more of a challenge, or maybe had me a little bit more vulnerable, just because it's a car that's quite difficult to drive, and I'm not used to it, and at this time of year it's obviously quite tough. But they were good, and now I'm excited to be back.”