Red Bull F1 issue Liam Lawson statement

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Red Bull F1 issue Liam Lawson statement

Lawson impressed in brief Red Bull stint

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Wednesday 23 September 2026 21:44

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Red Bull have released a statement on New Zealand F1 star Liam Lawson following his three-race stint at the team in place of Isack Hadjar.

After the French star broke his wrist during the summer break while boxing, Lawson was promoted from Red Bull's sister team Racing Bulls to cover for the 21-year-old as Max Verstappen's team-mate.

Lawson didn't disappoint too, grabbing 14 points for the team following a seventh-place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix and a sixth place at the most recent Spanish Grand Prix.

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It follows an already excellent campaign for the 24-year-old Kiwi star who in ninth place in the championship is the best of the rest outside of the drivers from the front running teams of Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Rd Bull.

Red Bull have confirmed that Hadjar will return to the cockpit for this weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but went on record to praise Lawson's contribution over the previous three grands prix.

Red Bull delighted with Lawson performance

Red Bull said: "The team would like sincerely thank Liam for his professionalism, dedication and hard work over the past three races.

"Stepping in under challenging circumstances, he delivered some impressive performances and made a valuable contribution to the team.

"We wish him all the very best as he returns to Visa Cash App Racing Bulls."

The three-race experience would have been a welcome one for Lawson in achieving some sort of redemption having been dumped by Red Bull in extraordinary fashion after just two races at the start of 2025, a move he admits left him blindsided.

Lawson had only just been promoted from Racing Bulls for 2025 to replace the much criticised Sergio Perez.

But While Verstappen finished second and fourth in his first couple of races, Lawson retired and ended up 12th, before he was axed by then team boss Christain Horner, swapping him with Racing Bull's Yuki Tsunoda, who had similar results to Lawson.

Isack Hadjar's new Red Bull deal blocks a third spell with the team for Liam Lawson

Lawson though may not return

Any chance of Lawson having a third spell with Red Bull, at least in a permanent role, looks distant for now though after the team announced an extended deal for Hadjar on Wednesday.

Lawson's own future with Racing Bulls is as of yet still undecided - and the 24-year-old is one of six F1 drivers without a confirmed place on the grid this season.

However, Lawson's impressive season, getting the better of rookie team-mate Arvid Lindblad, indicate that he will be kept on by the Racing Bulls for another year at least.

2027 F1 driver market

6 seats open

Drivers shown as Confirmed have been included in F1's official 2027 grid update. All remaining seats are currently listed as TBC.

McLaren

Lando Norris Confirmed

Oscar Piastri Confirmed

Mercedes

Kimi AntonelliConfirmed

George RussellConfirmed

Red Bull

Max Verstappen Confirmed

Isack Hadjar Confirmed

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc Confirmed

Lewis Hamilton Confirmed

Williams

Alex AlbonConfirmed

Carlos SainzConfirmed

Racing Bulls

TBC

Aston Martin

TBC

Haas

TBC

Audi

Nico HulkenbergConfirmed

Gabriel BortoletoConfirmed

Alpine

Pierre Gasly Confirmed

Franco ColapintoConfirmed

Cadillac

Sergio Perez Confirmed

Valtteri Bottas Confirmed

Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

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