Liam Lawson finished 12th at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
The Kiwi driver crossed the line 11th, but a third-time penalty in two weeks cost him again.
The result is still Lawson’s best of the season so far.
Conveniently forgetting another time penalty, this race weekend was comfortably Liam Lawson’s best of 2025.
The Kiwi may have finished exactly where he started at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. But over 50 laps at Jeddah Corniche Circuit, wesaw the Liam Lawson of old.
This year has been difficult for the Kiwi, that’s not in question. But the improvements of the last two grands prix cannot be ignored.
And when considering the congested midfield battle between Racing Bulls, Alpine and Williams, it won’t be long before Lawson starts pushing for regular points finishes.
Here’s what we learned in Saudi Arabia:
Double standards?
Lawson in no way deserved any kind of a penalty for his overtake on Alpine’s Jack Doohan.
The Kiwi was already well clear by the time he used the run-off area at turn one after overtaking the Australian, and was hit by a 10s penalty for his troubles.
The big question, though, is why was Lawson’s punishment so harsh when world champion Max Verstappen was slapped with 5s for the same “offence” in the same place, where he did gain an advantage?
In that instance, Verstappen cut in front of Oscar Piastri and was able to hold his position amid a clash between Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda that resulted in a safety car.
In Verstappen’s case, the incident occurred early enough in the race that he was able to see out his penalty during his pit stop. And while that did cost him victory, finishing second behind Oscar Piastri, Verstappen was still able to adjust in race.
Post race, the stewards justified the decision by saying because Verstappen’s incident occurred on lap one, they were more lenient. However, when an offence takes place shouldn’t be the biggest determinant in its punishment.
Speaking afterwards, even Lawson himself conceded he wasn’t entirely sure what he was penalised for.
But given the similarity between the two incidents, it’s hard to accept why Lawson was handed twice the punishment his Red Bull stablemate was.
Liam Lawson in the pit lane at Formula One's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Photo / Red Bull
Had Lawson been hit with a 5s penalty instead, he would have kept hold of 11th place.
For years, there has been suggestion through the Formula One paddock that the bigger teams were handed advantages their opposition weren’t.
While it’s highly unlikely that’s the case – Verstappen himself was handed 20s’ worth of penalties in Mexico last year – it’s still not a good look for the sport.
Positives in penalties
Regardless, that’s now three penalties in two races for Lawson.
As seen by Verstappen, comfortably the best driver for a generation, wins, podiums and even points will be hard to come by for the Kiwi if he keeps getting punished in the way he has been across Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
But, when you look at the “how” instead of the “what”, there is plenty to be pleased about for Kiwi fans.
All three penalties across these past two weeks have been a result of Lawson attempting to overtake.
Then, going around the outside of Doohan yielded another overtake, even if it did result in the penalty.
Yes, penalties are bad. However, even worse would be if Lawson weren’t attempting the kinds of moves that are getting him into trouble.
In 2025, overtaking in Formula One is as tough as it’s ever been. The length of this year’s car is 5.63m, which leaves little-to-no room for cars to pass one another on track, and instead leaves it down to pit strategy for any passes to take place.
However, with car regulations to change from 2026 onwards, Lawson is showing he won’t die wondering and will surely reap those rewards next season.
On the up
At the start of the race weekend, Racing Bulls chief executive Peter Bayer detailed Lawson’s return to the team and how he was impacted by the understandable knock to his confidence that followed – even as the man himself said otherwise.
These past three weeks, though, have shown clear signs that Lawson is getting back to his best.
While there were obvious struggles in adapting to Red Bull’s RB21 to start the season, moving back down to Racing Bulls and the much more forgiving VCARB02 has really been what the Kiwi needed.
Results have yet to materialise, but they are coming.
Let’s not forget, Lawson has had no pre-season in this Racing Bulls car. Compare that with his teammate Isack Hadjar, who was able to log hundreds of laps in both pre-season testing and the first two grands prix of the year.
Liam Lawson arrives in the Formula One paddock for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Photo / Red Bull
Naturally, that curve will flatten out over time – as seen by the fact Lawson out-qualified Hadjar on Sunday.
Make no mistake, this is not a car that will challenge for wins or podiums the way Lawson would have wanted at Red Bull – even if Tsunoda is still finding his feet.
But with contracts for more than one team up for grabs in 2026, the Kiwi is putting himself in the frame to be a reliable contender to stay on the grid.
Is Hadjar Racing Bulls’ No 1 driver?
Barring Red Bull, just about every team will say they don’t have a defined No 1 or No 2 driver.
With so much financially at stake during a 24-race season and rewards handed out based on where a team finish in the constructors’ championship, teams need both cars scoring points as often as possible.
So, with that on board, can you make a case that – even if they’re contractually equal – Racing Bulls are favouring one teammate over the other?
Even after qualifying 14th to Lawson’s 12th, Hadjar was put on the better pit strategy.
The Frenchman started on hard tyres, went long and swapped mediums to finish the race faster than Lawson, who had the inverse strategy.
It’s the same tactic Racing Bulls used in Austin last year, when Lawson gained from running longer to finish ninth after starting 19th.
With all the data and telemetry available, surely Racing Bulls know better than favouring the car starting further back?
Regardless, Hadjar’s star continues to rise.
After a poor start where he crashed out on the formation lap in Melbourne, Hadjar has had a good beginning to his time in Formula One.
He’s now scored points in two grands prix, Japan and Saudi Arabia, while his teammates are yet to grab any. That’s not including the five points Tsunoda picked up in the China sprint race.
Depending on what happens with Tsunoda, Red Bull could very much still be in the driver market for 2026.
And if things continue the way they are going, the French rookie is making a good case for himself. Now, it’s up to Lawson to respond.
Enjoy the break
After three races in three weeks, two of them in an unfavourable time zone for Kiwis, Formula One won’t return until the start of next month.
That time off will be welcomed by all before another block of races.
Up next is Miami, one of the newer tracks on the calendar and one in which overtaking will be a challenge. Then, it’s another triple-header with Imola, Monaco and Barcelona one week after another.
Those three circuits have four DRS zones between them, which will again make overtaking a tough ask.
Because of that, qualifying becomes the most important part of the next lot of races.
How the drivers spend their time off is up to them. However, you can put money on Lawson getting back behind the wheel of the simulator and making sure he’s ready for racing to resume on May 7.
