Lawson focused on RB form, not on Red Bull return

Liam Lawson says he is not thinking about the possibility of rejoining Red Bull Racing in 2026, insisting his focus remains firmly on delivering strong performances for Racing Bulls.

The Kiwi began 2025 alongside Max Verstappen in the senior Red Bull team, stepping up following Sergio Perez’s departure. But after just two races – both spent at the back of the field – Red Bull reversed course, promoting Yuki Tsunoda in his place and sending Lawson back to its junior squad.

Since returning to the Faenza-based outfit, Lawson has scored 20 points, highlighted by a career-best sixth place at the Austrian Grand Prix. That puts him just two points behind rookie teammate Isack Hadjar and well clear of Tsunoda, who has managed only 10 points since moving up.

But despite his increasingly solid results, and the growing chatter surrounding Red Bull’s 2026 lineup, Lawson remains first and foremost focused on the present.

“Honestly, in terms of my future, it’s been so busy this year that I’m not really thinking about it,” he told PlanetF1.

“I’m focused on having some good races. Obviously, we’ve had some recently, but three of them isn’t enough over 12 races, or however many it’s been, so we need to do more of this, and then we’ll see.”

In Hungary last time out, Lawson finished eighth – the best result among Red Bull-affiliated drivers – with Verstappen crossing the line ninth.

Lessons from Verstappen – but Time Was Too Short

Lawson says his short stint alongside Verstappen at Red Bull at least gave him the chance to observe the fine details that have made the Dutchman a four-time world champion, although two races offered no real time to collect key knowledge.

“I was very excited to have that opportunity to basically see everything that he was doing in detail,” Lawson explained, quoted by RacingNews365.

“Because I think the thing is, to be honest, we have so much data shared across teams at the moment.

“It’s very simple data, but as a driver, it’s the main stuff that we’re looking at, speed traces, you know, where somebody’s braking, throttle places, gears, things like that that we use.

“We actually can see across the grid what people are doing. So I already compare with Max a lot to see how he’s approaching corners and things like that.

“So it was the detailed stuff that you wouldn’t get across teams that I was excited to have, but in two weekends, it’s very hard to take too much from that.”

• Read also: Permane hails Lawson’s revival after RB suspension upgrade

In those two races for Red Bull, Lawson retired in Australia and finished 12th in China, while Verstappen secured second and fourth.

With Lawson now focused on building momentum and Racing Bulls still in the fight for midfield points, the 23-year-old is making it clear: his priority lies in the here and now, not the Red Bull seat he briefly occupied.

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