The New Zealand driver Liam Lawson has received recognition for his impressive performance at the latest Dutch Grand Prix, where he finished seventh in his return to Red Bull Racing.
Lawson was unexpectedly called up to take the place of Isack Hadjar, who had to withdraw due to a hand injury. Despite the short preparation time, the driver demonstrated his ability to adapt and had a solid weekend in Zandvoort.
The team’s ambassador and former Red Bull mechanic, Calum Nicholas, praised Lawson’s calmness and control during the competition, stating that he maximized the car’s capabilities. ‘He did a great job with the car he had available, and he achieved the expected results,’ he commented.
This was the first time Lawson shared the track with Max Verstappen since his crisis in 2025, when he was displaced from the first team. The 24-year-old driver had replaced Sergio Pérez, but only stayed for two races with the first team before returning to the lower categories.
Nicholas highlighted that it was crucial for Lawson to have a calm and exceptional weekend. ‘As it conditions what has happened before, making this transition suddenly and having consistent performance is admirable, and I am happy for him,’ he said.
For his part, the team director, Laurent Mekies, agreed with the assessments about the difficulty of his task, emphasizing that Lawson managed to be just a tenth behind Verstappen in qualifying and collected the available points with his seventh position during the race.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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