Racing Bulls team boss Alan Permane has outlined how Liam Lawson changed following his brief stint in Red Bull last year.
Lawson started the 2025 Formula 1 championship in the Red Bull team alongside Max Verstappen, but poor results meant he lasted just two races before he was demoted to Racing Bulls.
At the time, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner admitted the team “asked too much of him too soon”.
Afterwards, Lawson said he felt he hadn’t been given enough time to prove himself.
He finished 2025 14th in the drivers’ championship and at the end of the year, was confirmed in the Racing Bulls team alongside rookie Arvid Lindblad for the 2026 season.
Speaking on F1’s Beyond The Grid show, Permane said Lawson told him that he was fine following his return from Red Bull, but he could tell that he wasn’t.
“We obviously knew him from the year before, we could tell he certainly wasn’t the same guy, and I don’t want to say we rebuilt him because that’s a little bit dramatic, but we just supported and helped him where we could,” Permane said.
“He works incredibly hard and he works incredibly well with his engineering team, and he did it.”
Liam Lawson of Visa Cash App Racing Bulls Formula One Team.
MPS AGENCY / PHOTOSPORT
Permane said he told the 24-year-old to ignore everything else that comes with being a Formula 1 driver and just concentrate on the driving.
“He’s laser-focused, it’s a bit of a cliché, but he is and I’m really pleased that you can see that in his driving. He’s much more aware of the car, I think he works better and closer with his engineers, he knows what he wants from the car, he’s able to drive it in a way to get the best out of the car.”
What will make Lawson happy this week in Hungary is the upgrade to his car.
Teammate Arvid Lindblad had the upgrade last weekend in Belgium and finished ninth, while Lawson struggled for speed at times and was out of the points for the first time in six races when he finished 12th.
However, Lawson will have the upgraded chassis at the Hungaroring and will be hoping to add to his points haul of 39 which has him tenth in the standings.
Permane believes what is helping him is that the New Zealander doesn’t have a particular driving style.
“I don’t think Fernando (Alonso) has a driving style, I don’t think Max (Verstappen) has a driving style. I think they just drive the car however it needs to be driven to go quickest.
“I think Liam is doing a little bit of that this year, he’s figuring out how to drive these cars, what’s the best way to get everything out of this car, and he’s doing that, and I think he’s able to do that because he’s just concentrating on driving, and he’s not worrying too much about the outside world.”