Six races into the 2025 Formula 1 season, Liam Lawson is one of just four drivers yet to score a single championship point. The 22-year-old New Zealander rejoined with Racing Bulls after being demoted from Red Bull following two tough races, but a combination of technical issues, race incidents, and bad luck have left him with a bleak-looking stat sheet.
After crashing out on Lap 1 of the 2025 Miami Grand Prix following contact with Jack Doohan, Lawson was blunt in his assessment.
“Pretty shocking,” Lawson said, when asked about his performance at VCARB. “We have no points. Obviously Formula 1 is a lot of variables and to put a full race together could be quite tough. The speed’s been there for most of it, just unfortunately it hasn’t worked out for us so far.”
Hadjar holds the edge, but it’s closer than it looks
Most eyes have been on Isack Hadjar, who has impressed as a rookie at Racing Bulls. The Frenchman has finished in the points twice and outqualified Lawson in four of their five grand prix weekends together.
But when technical gremlins are factored in — including a DRS issue in Bahrain and battery trouble in Miami — Lawson’s deficit narrows. In fact, in the two main qualifying sessions where both cars were trouble-free, Lawson holds a slender 0.048s advantage.
Still, the raw numbers are hard to ignore. Hadjar’s average grand prix starting position is 11th, while Lawson’s is 14.5 — a gulf that makes it significantly harder to challenge for points.
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In Japan, Lawson slipped from 13th to 17th, undercut by Doohan and Hülkenberg, while Hadjar surged to eighth. In Bahrain, Lawson’s double penalty erased a decent run.
In Saudi Arabia, he outqualified Hadjar but was again hit with a 10-second penalty for overtaking off-track. And in Miami — the sixth race of the year — he was wiped out at Turn 1 in an incident with Doohan that damaged his car and ended any chance of recovery. Despite these setbacks, Lawson remains defiant.
“Comfort-wise I feel really good in the car,” Lawson said. “Speed’s been pretty good most places, just unfortunately no results to show for it.”
Looking ahead, Lawson knows consistency will be key: “Reset, like always. That’s how we have to be in the sport. Keep working forward, keep improving things. I don’t think anything really changes. I think our approach to the weekend’s been really, really good. As I said, the car was fast this weekend, so it’ll click eventually.”
With six rounds complete in the 2025 F1 season and the midfield battle tighter than ever, Lawson’s time to prove himself may be running out — but not all is lost just yet.
