How Liam Lawson’s hold-up play affected the Monaco GP
One of the great mysteries prior to this year’s Monaco Grand Prix had lain in how Formula 1’s teams would execute a second stop for tyres – especially without the impact of a safety car. As such, the race was defined by extreme hold-up play among the midfielders, much to the chagrin of those who […]
How «stroke of genius» set up Racing Bulls for season-best result at F1 Monaco GP
Sitting in the Monaco Grand Prix media centre towards the end of Sunday’s Formula 1 race, the press pack were trying to decide just how we each felt about the introduction of the mandatory two-stop rule and if it had worked or not. One of them hit the nail firmly on the head when he […]
Has Lawson’s Racing Bulls F1 return been as bad as it seems?
“Pretty shocking.” That’s how Liam Lawson assesses his results, four grands prix into his newest stint as a Racing Bulls driver, following his demotion from Red Bull. “We have no points,” Lawson said matter-of-factly after another forgettable race in Miami. “Obviously Formula 1 is a lot of variables and to put a full race together […]
Where Lawson and Tsunoda stand three races into their Red Bull/Racing Bulls switch
For the reasons previously explored in this writer’s column last week, the RB21 has performance available to be extracted — but largely in a certain, admittedly narrow, window. When comparing how the drivers occupying Red Bull’s rotating second seat had got on, it was evident that was something that Liam Lawson struggled with, while Yuki […]
The story behind Red Bull’s surprise F1 rookie, Isack Hadjar
The 20-year-old French-Algerian rookie has wasted no time standing out. He had a rocky start in Melbourne, where he crashed on the formation lap, but has since emerged as one of the most talked-about newcomers on the grid, with Q3 appearances in China and Japan, as well as points finishes in Japan and Saudi Arabia. […]
Lawson “definitely pushing me” like Tsunoda used to
Isack Hadjar says his Racing Bulls Formula 1 team-mate Liam Lawson has had a smooth adaptation back to the Faenza-based squad following his Red Bull demotion — which the New Zealander agrees on. Lawson outqualified Hadjar for the first time at last weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, outpacing the rookie by 0.010s in Q1 and […]
Why Lawson needs a reset to stop Red Bull’s loss becoming Racing Bulls’ loss
«Not super fun so far» — either a pithy scrawled note penned by the late Roger Ebert part-way through a tepid, multi-million dollar blockbuster (Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, perhaps?) or Liam Lawson’s assessment of his opening four races in 2025. As we’re not Empire Magazine, you know it’s probably the latter point. This […]
Why both Racing Bulls were ahead of Verstappen on Friday in Japan
«I think the people at Racing Bulls were a bit surprised themselves by the good car they’ve built this year,» Max Verstappen told reporters on Thursday at the Japanese Grand Prix. Two weeks ago in China, the world champion made it clear that his struggling team-mate Liam Lawson would be faster in the Racing Bulls […]
“Definitely not something I expected”
Liam Lawson has revealed that his demotion to Racing Bulls, after just two grands prix at Red Bull in the 2025 Formula 1 season, came as a surprise. After Lawson struggled at both Melbourne and Shanghai – including qualifying 20th twice in China – Red Bull decided the situation called for an immediate driver swap, […]