Lawson: “I’m in the best place I’ve ever been in Formula 1”

Written by Bo Helmus

The Racing Bulls scored double points in Monaco | Credit: Formula 1

Liam Lawson is having a great season so far. He has finished in the points in almost every race he has finished. He only failed to do so when he was closest to home. He is ninth in the drivers’ standings and he tied his career-best finish in Monaco last week. 

When the New-Zealander was asked how he felt about this result, he said: “Yeah, it was very different [than getting fifth place in Baku], honestly. Monaco is very special, and I think especially when we started the weekend we weren't actually very competitive, and we changed so much on the car over the weekend.” 

Lawson tied his career best finish in Monaco | Credit: Formula 1

Rocky weekend

The 24-year-old qualified in tenth place, but it wasn’t easy sailing for him in Monaco: “Sunday was just an emotional rollercoaster. I didn't think I was going to race. I got to the garage and the car was in pieces, where it had an issue, and the team did an amazing job to put it together. And I got out, did one lap to the grid basically, so we didn't really get to feel balance or anything like that.

“But we survived, which at the moment I think is a bit of what's been working for us. Obviously, we've got to try and keep that consistency, but we've been reasonably competitive, but just in the right place. And when people have had issues, we've been able to capitalise on it, and I think that's really what happened in Monaco. So, it was cool.”

Dominating the midfield

This fifth place is not the only good result for the team this season, the car is flying past the other midfield teams. That is mostly due to the power unit. Lawson said: “I think we have a good power unit for sure. I think we've done maybe [more than] what people expected, even maybe what we expected at the start, coming in with a brand-new power unit, new team to build that. And I think HPP has done an incredible job and we have a very competitive power unit.”

The Racing Bulls are running a special livery in Barcelona | Credit: Formula 1

The New-Zealander won’t go as far as saying they have the best power unit, but they have a good one, that is for sure: “It's hard to know who's got the actual best. Everybody has different levels of efficiency with downforce and stuff like this, and even within teams you see differences sometimes on race weekends and straight-line performance and stuff. So I don't personally know if we actually have the best, but I just know it's very good. But I think obviously other teams also have very good power units.”

A long way to go

Even if everything looks to be going the Racing Bulls’ way, a lot can still happen in the remaining races. Lawson is very down-to-earth: “I know it's motorsport. Obviously a bad weekend is eventually going to come and we all have that, but at the moment it's been good. We've had good momentum and I think as a team we've done a very good job and I'm looking forward to trying to continue that.”

The new regulations are still affecting the races massively. The new cars are everything but reliable. The 24-year-old expects some big updates: “I think the cars are very interesting this year. We're all obviously still getting used to them, learning. Development is obviously massive this year. We're all finding sort of big things most weekends, so we're all chasing that.” 

Lawson’s first race was four seasons ago in 2023 | Credit: Formula 1

Experience is key

Lawson feels better in the car knowing that he has a few seasons of experience by now: “I think on a personal level, probably, I think we’re always evolving and learning. So, the more experience I have, I'm going to get better. And I think compared to last year, I would say I'm in a better place. I think there's been a bit more consistency this year and that's been helping.”

The step down from Red Bull early last year might’ve felt like the end of the world, but it is probably the best thing that could’ve happened to the New-Zealander: “I think you always learn, you always get better. So for sure I'm in a better place than I've ever been in Formula 1. But I think also the last couple of years, the way I came into Formula 1 was quite unique as well, at the back end of both seasons, of 2023 and 2024. So last year was, I guess, first full season, but obviously started very rocky.” 

With all that experience and a steady position in the team, Lawson is feeling confident: “I think this year had a proper pre-season. And with new cars, obviously we're all working on learning them. And I just think we've done a good job, and I've learned a lot from the last couple of years as well and I feel like I've been able to put that to use this year.”