Liam Lawson spent much of his 2025 season racing flat-out not just against rivals, but against uncertainty. Every lap, every result carried an unspoken question about what came next.
That question, he has now revealed, was finally answered in the heat-soaked aftermath of last month’s Qatar Grand Prix.
Only then did the noise fade, the speculation stop, and Lawson’s Formula 1 future with Racing Bulls snap into focus.
By the time the paddock packed up in Doha, discussions about Lawson’s future had already been rumbling on for weeks. But clarity, he admits, arrived suddenly – and personally – after the race itself.
“I think the final sort of say was after the race in Qatar,” Lawson told the KTM Summer Grill podcast.
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What followed was a sit-down that brought instant relief. Racing Bulls team boss Alan Permane delivered the message directly, leaving no room for doubt.
“I sat down with Alan, which is cool for him to be able to tell me as well that we will be obviously working together next year.”
For a driver who began the season in the senior Red Bull team before being shifted back to Racing Bulls, the confirmation mattered deeply. Heading into the finale in Abu Dhabi, Lawson says the certainty lifted a weight he had been carrying all year.
Relief, Reflection and Renewed Focus
The timing of the decision could hardly have been better. After what Lawson describes as a relentless campaign, knowing his place in 2025 allowed him to finally exhale.
“It’s been a very busy year. A very intense year,” he said. “And to come to this weekend now with obviously that knowledge of next year as well makes it a bit nicer.
“I’m excited to get to work on the challenges of next year.”
The numbers back up his optimism. Seven points finishes, 38 points overall, and a standout fifth place in Baku – where he qualified a career-best third – marked a season of tangible progress.
But for Lawson, the real breakthrough came later in the year, when raw speed began to turn into consistency.
“Even at the start of the year [with Racing Bulls] was already quite good,” he said. “I think at the start there was no question of if we were going to have a good result.
“It wasn’t we were struggling that much, but I think it was just the consistency trying to put it together. And I think that’s something we found in a few ways, but mainly in some stuff that we found in the car.
“Making it a bit more comfortable for me to drive around Austria. That made a big difference.”
The Biggest Change On the Horizon
As Formula 1 edges closer to a new technical era, Lawson is also realistic about what will be lost. The current cars, he admits, were not always friendly – but they were brutally quick.
“The speed mainly,” he explained. “I think the speed has been, you know, the end of any era of regulations obviously the cars are fully developed. And right now as sometimes uncomfortable as they are to drive, they’re very, very fast.
“So that’ll be something that I think is going to be a bit of a change probably going into next year from where we start.”
For now, though, Lawson heads into the off-season with something far more valuable than raw pace: certainty. And with his future secured, the next phase of his Formula 1 journey can finally begin without doubt hanging over every lap.
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