Lawson sees clear differences in his second chance with Red Bull

Liam Lawson says he is facing a different situation at Red Bull as he makes a substitute appearance for the team at the Dutch Grand Prix, compared to his previous and disappointingly brief stint in 2025.

Red Bull signed Lawson to replace Sergio Perez at the start of 2025, but the New Zealander struggled and swapped seats with Yuki Tsunoda after just two races. Returning to Racing Bulls, Lawson, who has impressed so far this season, explained why he feels being back in the Red Bull to fill in for the injured Isack Hadjar at Zandvoort is not a comparable environment to the one he was in last year.

“Everything's really different, to be honest,” Lawson said. “I know I'm coming in for this weekend and in a unique situation to try and maximize one weekend. It's very different to being your own car, being your own team.

“At the same time I've had a lot of races since then in Formula 1 as well, so I've learned a huge amount and I'd like to try and take as much of that into this weekend as I can. It's for sure going to be interesting. Obviously, it's a tough track, the weather's going to be very interesting as well, so let's see.

“Not so much the pressure [being off] but just the fact that it's in some ways exciting to be given an opportunity like this, but for me I feel like I've done a good job this year. Over the season it's been strong – we're in a good position in the championship. I'd love to try and maximize that weekend and keep that consistency running, even if it's in a different car.”

Lawson says he only had the chance to spend one day in the Red Bull simulator before heading to Zandvoort, but that he feels his previous experiences of mid-season opportunities stand him in good stead.

“[I found out on] Monday – I literally landed, I hadn't even got off the plane. So I've come from basically being on break and landed in the UK for what I thought was going to be obviously [Racing Bulls] prep and Alan [Permane, Racing Bulls team principal] called me and basically told me what was going on, so then my week changed pretty quickly.

“I mean I've had some pretty tough weekends in Formula 1 to be fair! Literally I think three years ago was Zandvoort when obviously Daniel [Ricciardo] had his injury and I jumped in, so that's got to be number one toughest weekend ever, and I would hope that this is not tougher than that. But it's going to be tricky for sure.

“But obviously I'm grateful to have had those experiences in the past as well – I think they sort of help build you for something like this.”

Lawson’s seat at Racing Bulls will be taken by Tsunoda, who now acts as reserve driver to both teams. The Japanese driver says the opportunity to race again this year was a pleasant surprise.

“I was with my manager and also other friends in Greece,” Tsunoda said. “I was in the beach. It's not like I was just hanging in the beach all the time – I was still training and everything. But at the moment I received a call from my manager [I was] at the beach, pretty relaxed and watching the nice beautiful ocean. And I just suddenly got a call: ‘OK, you have to go to UK.’

“I had been in Greece just 24 hours and you already want me to go to UK? And I said, ‘Why?’

“‘Maybe you might race this week.’

“‘OK, that's fair.’

“It was a very unexpected thing. So, I'm just trying to be calm. I'm actually quite calm and waiting for it for tomorrow.

“It was a moment I was waiting for. Obviously, it always really depends on the current drivers who are competing this year. It's not frustrating or stressful, but watching from the screen every race, I was feeling like I really want to be back and drive.”

While Tsunoda has yet to drive a 2026-specification Formula 1 car, he believes he is as sharp as he could be through testing of previous car (TPC) running that he’s done for Red Bull.

“Physically and in terms of my mind, I think it's sharp enough because I was training almost every day and for a long time," he said. "And also actually [this was] the only time I have had a little time to do it (train) because I didn't have anything to do other than that! And also I've done four TPCs and within that, I was doing five race distances. So, pretty sharp and, I had a good experience and good laps.

“So, all I just need to do is to get used to it with this car – which I guess I will feel quite a difference – and the procedures, how to start and everything. And I think having one Free Practice this week (Zandvoort being a Sprint weekend) is going to be tricky, but that's why I'm not setting any expectations for now. I just enjoy and have fun, which I wanted to have for a long time.”