Liam Lawson opens up on “not so clear” F1 future after Red Bull axe

Liam Lawson has conceded he doesn’t know how or where he will achieve his goal of becoming an F1 world champion after losing his Red Bull drive earlier in the season.

After two positive stints with Red Bull’s junior team, Lawson was promoted alongside Max Verstappen for the start of the 2025 F1 season.

The Kiwi struggled for pace and was dropped after two races.

Red Bull cited Yuki Tsunoda’s experience as a key factor in making a change just two races in.

While Lawson’s form didn’t pick up immediately on his return to Racing Bulls, he’s bagged big points in recent rounds.

While Lawson is expected to remain at Racing Bulls for 2026, he’s unsure of his longer term future.

“I think it’s tough. I think my dream, as much as I wanted to be a Red Bull Racing driver, that’s what I worked towards from becoming a Red Bull junior,” Lawson said.

“The dream I’ve had since I was five years old has been world champion. Has been winning in Formula 1 and reaching the top of the sport. And I think that’s more or less where my dream sits, where my goal is, trying to become the best.

“That’s what we’re all working towards. And I think where I do that is not so clear as much as I thought it was.”

Lawson praises Hadjar

It was an excellent weekend for Racing Bulls as Isack Hadjar scored the team’s first podium since 2021.

Lawson was involved in an incident with Carlos Sainz after a Safety Car restart, ruining both of their races.

“For the team, it’s very, very cool. It’s very cool for Isack and his side. They’ve done a very, very good job this weekend,” Lawson said of Hadjar’s race.

“The car has been very strong recently, so it’s great to show the performance of it today. It’s very, very cool for Isack as well. It’s a shame we couldn’t bring both cars home in the points, but obviously very, very positive for the team and hopefully we can take that forward into the next few races.”

Reflecting on his own race, Lawson felt it was a big missed opportunity.

“We were behind probably George before everything happened, and the car has been very, very strong, so there’s no reason why we wouldn’t have come home with very strong points today,” he explained.

“We were just consistent in the first stint, sort of managing, and a restart is always aggressive and tough, and obviously it’s time for opportunities, but something that risky is when we’re both in the points like that, it just sucks.”