After qualifying 14th, and starting 13thafter a Carlos Sainz penalty, Lawson couldn’t make up any places, as a poorly timed pit strategy came back to bite Racing Bulls.
However, across the whole weekend, the Kiwi should be quietly happy with what he managed to do in Japan, as he reacclimiatises to Racing Bulls for the rest of the year.
In a twist that no one saw coming, after Red Bull made the brutal decision to switch drivers just two races into 2025, Yuki Tsunoda also struggled to make the RB21 car work.
It’s a theme that’s become too apparent since 2019, but this year more than ever after how Lawson was treated.
Despite impressing in Friday’s first practice, Tsunoda couldn’t get out of the second qualifying session, and ultimately started in 14th - one position behind Lawson.
Suzuka is a difficult track to gauge as to how things really stack up. All 20 drivers finished the race, a rarity, meaning opportunities to overtake were hard to come by.
Yes, Tsunoda did recover in the Grand Prix to finish 12th. At the same time, though, Max Verstappen put that car on pole, and turned it into his first victory of the season.
All up, his displays at Suzuka were more impressive than what Lawson managed in both Melbourne and Shanghai, even if there is huge mitigation in what the Kiwi was able to do.
Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda at the 2024 Brazil Grand Prix. Photo / Red Bull
When Lawson was promoted from Racing Bulls, he had just 11 grands prix worth of experience to his name. Tsunoda had 92.
With his position at Red Bull also under threat given his link to engine supplier Honda, who make way next season, Tsunoda needs results and points if he’s to keep that spot in 2026.
And while there were impressive signs throughout the race weekend, Red Bull will only tolerate drivers finishing outside of the points for so long, especially when Verstappen is doing what he does.
Look over your shoulder, Liam
While Lawson beating Tsunoda in qualifying was a sight for Kiwis to get behind on Saturday night, it’s ultimately not what he’s back at Racing Bulls to do.
In motorsport, a driver’s first objective is to beat his or her teammate. And by that standard, this weekend was one to forget for Lawson.
With this season being his first in Racing Bulls, and Formula One altogether, Isack Hadjar has had a mixed start. After crashing out on the formation lap in Melbourne, the 20-year-old responded with 11th in China. And even as he gets used to the Racing Bulls’ VCARB02, Hadjar put in his best performance to date at Suzuka.
Even after losing a position from qualifying seventh, taking eighth place is nothing to balk at from the Frenchman, given he was passed by Sir Lewis Hamilton, and Sir Lewis Hamilton alone.
Liam Lawson leads Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar at Suzuka. Photo / Red Bull
Therein lies Lawson’s challenge. If he’s to have any future at Red Bull, he needs to get the better of Hadjar before anyone else.
Admittedly, Hadjar has had three races in the VCARB02 compared to Lawson’s one, so will naturally have a better understanding of the car, and its limits. On the flip side of that, though, Lawson boasts more experience, and will need to close the gap on his teammate, especially in qualifying.
But as more than one driver fights to prove to Red Bull that they deserve a chance in the top team for 2026 and beyond, Lawson needs to be bettering Hadjar week in, week out - no exceptions.
Pit strategy woes return
The most disappointing part of Lawson’s Grand Prix display is that his result wasn’t on him.
It was a risk worth taking - run for as long as he can on his first stint, before coming in and finishing the race on a faster tyre, or hope for rain, and effectively gain a free stop on the drivers who have already pitted.
But not for the first time, Racing Bulls’ pit strategy cost the Kiwi dearly. The rain didn’t arrive, and there were no accidents to trigger a safety car.
That meant by the time Lawson eventually pitted on lap 34, any advantage he’d had by making his medium tyres was spent. And even though he was able to use a set of the quicker soft tyres, there was too much ground to make up, on a track that’s difficult to overtake on.
Liam Lawson leaves the pit lane at Suzuka. Photo / Red Bull
Yes, Racing Bulls won’t get it right every race, no team does. McLaren even tried to trick Red Bull with a fake pitstop that nearly cost Lando Norris second place from Oscar Piastri’s challenge.
But if Lawson is going to impress for the rest of the year, he’s going to need a bit of help from the people making race decisions on his behalf.
Sainz of a struggle
Make no mistake, with the exception of Verstappen taking victory and McLaren’s two cars fighting behind him, this will not go down as one of Formula One’s great races.
However, Lawson’s 30-plus lap battle with Carlos Sainz was genuinely a highlight in a race that provided few.
After dropping a place on the first lap to Tsunoda, Lawson had to defend from Sainz’s Williams if he was to keep hold of fourth position.
But even in a slower car, Lawson did just that. While the gap from Lawson to Sainz was at times as small as 0.4s, at no point did the Spaniard get into a position where he could overtake.
In fact, he was twice warned for leaving the track at the turn 16 chicane to potentially gain an advantage. It was only the dual pit stops that put Sainz in a position to get past Lawson, which he took advantage of.
Sainz, though, boasts 190 grands prix worth of experience to Lawson’s 14.
Banking on Bahrain
Looking ahead, then, the drivers will head to the Middle East later this week, where the second part of this triple-header of races resumes.
Sakhir’s Bahrain International Circuit hosts the fifth round, and it’s a track Lawson has succeeded on before.
In his first year of Formula Two in 2021, the Kiwi opened the season with a win in Bahrain’s sprint, and third place in the feature. One year later, he added another third place in the sprint race, and second in the feature.
As was the case with Suzuka, it’s a track Lawson should know well. Unlike Suzuka, Bahrain is a great track for overtaking - with three DRS zones a lap.
It will still take time for Lawson to get used to the VCARB02, that’s not in question.
However, history has already proven the Kiwi will find his feet with Red Bull’s senior team, and you’d be silly to bet against him doing the same again in Sakhir.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.
