{"id":851707,"date":"2026-08-11T18:30:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T18:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/851707\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T18:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T18:30:10","slug":"liam-lawson-reveals-mindset-shift-as-racing-bulls-star-targets-f1-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/851707\/","title":{"rendered":"Liam Lawson reveals mindset shift as Racing Bulls star targets F1 success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liam Lawson<\/a>\u2019s superb first half of 2026 has made him the leading light of the midfield, and the Kiwi has opened up on how his mindset towards success has changed.<\/p>\n

Lawson has scored points in all but three Grands Prix so far this year, with the Racing Bulls driver sitting in ninth place in the Drivers\u2019 Championship at the summer break.<\/p>\n

Liam Lawson explains his changing approach to F1 success<\/p>\n

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Lawson is a very relaxed figure as he sits down with PlanetF1.com for a look back at the first 11 races of the 2026 season. So relaxed in fact, he\u2019s come to the interview armed with a guitar, having just given an impromptu performance on the top floor of Red Bull\u2019s hospitality unit at the Belgian Grand Prix.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, there isn\u2019t quite enough time to get a rendition of one of the latest songs he\u2019s learned, but the Kiwi driver smiles as Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies makes his way over to our table to say hi and encourage the Racing Bulls<\/a> driver not to give away too many state secrets\u2026<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no surprise that things around Lawson are so relaxed. After all, he has been the star performer of the midfield on a consistent basis all season, with eight points finishes from 11 Grands Prix placing him in ninth place overall.<\/p>\n

With eight drivers filling the seats at the top four teams, ninth is realistically the highest position any other driver can hope to achieve, and Lawson is managing it with aplomb, with a range of results between sixth and ninth place.<\/p>\n

With Lawson confirming in Hungary that talks about his future within the Red Bull organisation will get started in and around the summer break, there\u2019s precious little more that he can do as a driver to safeguard that future.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not all that long ago that Lawson was selected to become Max Verstappen\u2019s teammate at the senior squad, under the previous team leadership, in what ultimately was a short-lived experiment at the start of 2025. Regrouping at Racing Bulls after his two races with Red Bull, the bounce-back has been pronounced \u2013 to the point where, had the initial promotion not occurred, there\u2019s little doubt that Lawson would be next in line to earn that potential promotion again.<\/p>\n

But is the senior team call-up something that Lawson is still thinking about? Success, he says, can come anywhere, and doesn\u2019t necessarily have to wait for such an opportunity again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think [my mindset] used to be, obviously, very specific: coming into Red Bull and trying to get to the top team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came into F1, and when I was young, that was really where my head was at, or what I thought about.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think now, honestly, it\u2019s not specific. Like everybody else, I\u2019m working towards being at the front and winning in Formula 1, and where that is, I have no idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m not too fussed about it, but that\u2019s what I\u2019m working towards.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lawson\u2019s current points total of 43 already eclipses what he managed over the entire F1 2025 season, albeit with the caveat that the Racing Bulls machine last year was not quite as competitive relative to rivals as this year\u2019s car has proven to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very different season, so we\u2019ve all had to sort of start a little bit from scratch,\u201d he said, when asked about what\u2019s changed from last to this season that has helped with the uptick in form.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if that helps or not, but for all the teams, we\u2019re developing, we\u2019re bringing new stuff every weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cStill, as drivers, we\u2019re learning how to optimise these cars. And then it\u2019s just having more experience compared to last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

One major factor to consider is that 2026 is the first season in which Lawson, despite his first appearance being in 2023, has actually had a proper pre-season, with the team he\u2019s actually still driving for.<\/p>\n

His 2023 stint was as a substitute for the injured Daniel Ricciardo, while his mid-season full-time replacement of the Australian in late 2024 led him to be promoted to the senior team \u2013 only to be demoted again after two races. That meant having to adjust to the 2025 Racing Bulls car again over the course of race weekends, while new teammate Isack Hadjar had had the benefit of the full pre-season test programme.<\/p>\n

But 2026 saw Lawson have a calm and steady test programme, the impact of which can\u2019t be underestimated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s definitely something that helps,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a preseason, starting with knowing where things are at with a team and knowing the direction that we\u2019re going, what we\u2019re developing, that makes a big difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had that this year, obviously with VCARB, and I hadn\u2019t had that in the past, so having that consistency, that familiarity with the team has been very helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there has been another change for Lawson to adjust to since his return to Racing Bulls, and that has been the change of team principal. Having initially reunited with Mekies after the first two races of 2025, the Frenchman\u2019s promotion to Red Bull in mid-2026 saw Alan Permane promoted into the Racing Bulls\u2019 leadership position.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he\u2019s been really good, honestly,\u201d Lawson said of his \u2018new\u2019 boss.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing with Alan is he comes from an engineering background, so my first introduction and relationship with him was on an engineering side, so we talked about cars and performance and stuff like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo yeah, that\u2019s been something that has helped. It\u2019s good because it means that I still have these conversations with him, really deep, about the car and about performance things that are on the car and that are on the weekend, even driving stuff as well, that we talk about.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a different eye than a normal team principal probably does, because he has a different background. So that\u2019s something that\u2019s been enjoyable; it\u2019s made it effective as a team principal.\u201d<\/p>\n

More on Racing Bulls in F1 2026<\/p>\n

Racing Bulls half-season review: Cooking up the Red Bull junior resurgence<\/a><\/p>\n

Liam Lawson lauds Racing Bulls ahead of F1 future talks<\/a><\/p>\n

With Lawson\u2019s on-track prowess now in full evidence, it would appear as though the ghosts of that ill-fated Red Bull step have been put well and truly to rest. But is that how he views things?<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly, no, not really,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really; I haven\u2019t really thought too much about what people thought last year or anything like that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very focused on where I\u2019m at right now, making sure I have a good season and trying to obviously have a future in Formula 1 and work towards the same goal we\u2019re all working towards.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo yeah, in terms of stuff that\u2019s happened in the past and last year, it\u2019s not really something that I think about now.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s probably more for you guys [media] to decide whatever you think, because for me, it\u2019s not something I think about now.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not really a thing for me. I think right now in this season we\u2019re doing a very, very good job. In my eyes, I didn\u2019t really have a ghost of last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a tough season. But I learned a huge amount through it, and honestly, I\u2019ve come out of that as a much stronger driver and person.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to use all that each week, and I get in the car now to have a good season, and that\u2019s what I\u2019m doing. However people view it is up to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, obviously people can look at it however they want, but, at the moment, things are going very, very well, and that\u2019s what we\u2019re focused on continuing \u2013 trying to keep that consistency going.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably the hardest thing in Formula 1; to keep that consistency, especially, I think, in the midfield; you\u2019re sort of always in all the action. So for us, it\u2019s been working very well. But yeah, I would say this year is a good representation of where things are at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n

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