While plenty of Red Bull drivers have been demoted to Racing Bulls, Lawson is the first to get another shot with the senior team, even if it comes with the huge asterisk of being only a replacement.
At a time when Lawson’s future beyond this season is still to be confirmed, and with promising youngster Nikola Tsolov said to be breathing down his neck – a report denied by Racing Bulls – there are fears his elevation could be used against him if it doesn’t work out.
Liam Lawson in Red Bull’s RB22 car at Zandvoort. Photo / Photosport
It makes sense. There are plenty of Formula One fans across the world, not just New Zealand, with battered dog syndrome over Red Bull’s treatment of its drivers over a long period of time.
Bar Max Verstappen, drivers have come and gone, one after the other. From Pierre Gasly, to Alex Albon, to Sergio Perez, then Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, all have been cast aside with little to no regard.
Lawson was backed as Red Bull’s man at the end of 2024, but the team bosses changed their minds just two races into 2025 – even if, the Herald understands, that decision was driven by commercial pressure from Honda.
Crucially, Red Bull is now a very different organisation from last year. For a start, Christian Horner and Helmut Marko – collectively responsible for all driver sackings – are no longer part of the team, after both were unceremoniously given their marching orders last year.
In their place, Laurent Mekies – Lawson’s former boss at Racing Bulls – appears to have taken a much more holistic approach to managing the team.
Convincing Verstappen to sign a new contract until the end of 2030 is a sign that things are trending upwards, even if there is still a merry-go-round of Red Bull staff joining other teams, notably long-time race engineer Gianpiero Lambiasse leaving for McLaren.
So what to make of Lawson’s return? At a time when there is plenty of speculation around which drivers Red Bull will back for 2027, this is arguably as big a vote of confidence as Lawson could have received.
There is no world in which Red Bull would give this opportunity to any driver – Lawson or otherwise – if they planned to let him go at the end of the year.
In a sport where so much value is placed on intellectual property, there’s no way anyone would be given the chance to learn anything about the Red Bull car if he wasn’t part of their future, before potentially taking it to a rival.
Even as team boss, Horner was placed on an extended period of gardening leave after his exit midway through last year. The same applied to his chief marketing officer Oliver Hughes and head of communications Paul Smith.
Sporting director Jonathan Wheatley was removed from internal matters after he signed to join Audi, as was strategy boss Will Courtenay when he joined McLaren.
If Lawson were truly destined for the chopping block, Red Bull giving him this chance would be brainless, to say the least.
Most importantly, Red Bull have picked Lawson over Tsunoda for one reason: they need him. With prize money at stake for every position in the constructors’ championship, the team need every point they can get while Hadjar is injured.
Liam Lawson arrives at Zandvoort for his return to Red Bull Racing. Photo / SmartFrame
Last year, Red Bull banked a reported $255 million for finishing third, while Ferrari took home $237m for fourth. Heading into Zandvoort, Red Bull trail McLaren by 43 points in that battle for third place.
In such a high-spending sport, that extra $18m might not seem like much, but for Red Bull, who have a duty to return a dividend to shareholders, it says a lot.
Red Bull know that Lawson gives them the best chance at immediate results, and Herald sources indicate he might be in the top team for more than just one race.
Make no mistake, this is a brutal challenge for Lawson. He’s stepping into a car he doesn’t know, with a day or two in the simulator to prepare as best he can. Even after that, he’ll have just one hour to practise on track, given the sprint weekend format.
However, that’s almost identical to the situation he faced in 2023, when he stepped in as an injury replacement for Daniel Ricciardo and finished 13th in a car which, at that point, had had more drivers than points.
It’s absolutely too much to suggest that points or even a podium finish are guaranteed. But given that crazy things appear to happen annually at Zandvoort, expect anything over the coming days.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.