Liam Lawson appears to have turned a corner in his 2025 Formula 1 campaign, delivering his most confident weekend since rejoining the Faenza based Racing Bulls outfit.
After an underwhelming stint at Red Bull where Lawson was dumped for Yuki Tsunoda, the New Zealander is now settling into his role at Faenza alongside rookie teammate Isack Hadjar.
At the 2025 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah, Lawson outqualified Hadjar for the first time this year, edging the Frenchman by 0.010s in Q1 and nearly a quarter of a second in Q2.
While Lawson ultimately finished the race just behind Hadjar on the road, he received a 10-second time penalty for an off-track overtake on Jack Doohan, dropping him to 12th in the final results.
“This weekend he was really, really fast,” Hadjar said of his teammate. “In qualifying, he made the most of the car. He’s definitely getting stronger now, definitely pushing me just like Yuki [Tsunoda] was pushing me as well.”
Lawson’s race strategy mirrored much of the grid — starting on mediums before switching to hards — but left him stuck in traffic, battling outside the points despite a string of solid overtakes.
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He passed Gabriel Bortoleto, Esteban Ocon, and Lance Stroll, but was unable to climb higher than 11th on the road.
“Unfortunately, my [strategy] didn’t work today, we spent the race overtaking cars,” Lawson said. “The end of our race was absolutely flat out, trying to make a 10-second gap to Fernando, but it wasn’t for the points anyway.
“It’s a shame we just ended up on the wrong end of it today.”
Despite that, he echoed Hadjar’s confidence about his progress within the team. “I think this is the fastest we’ve been, but just unfortunately not enough,” Lawson said.
Asked if he now feels fully up to speed at Faenza with Racing Bulls, Lawson responded: “I think so. Obviously we didn’t quite have the speed of the top teams yesterday, so we’ll try and work on improving this for Miami.”
Hadjar holds firm despite strategy frustration
While Lawson showed signs of improvement, Isack Hadjar once again proved his mettle with a clean and composed drive to a point in Jeddah.
Opting for the alternate hard/medium strategy, the 20-year-old rookie was unable to pass Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon despite having the fresher tyres in the final stint.
“It was a perfect race, and to get only one point is a bit… harsh,” Hadjar said. “When I knew the two Williams were ahead of me after the pitstop, I knew I was… cooked.”
His resilience after crashing out of the Australian Grand Prix formation lap has not gone unnoticed.
“It’s the love for racing. I just love it so much, just committed to it,” Hadjar said. “That’s why a tough hit like Melbourne is not enough to bring me down, because I love driving and giving my best.”
With both drivers pushing each other hard and making visible strides, Racing Bulls are shaping up to be one of the most intriguing midfield teams heading into the Miami Grand Prix.
