Formula 1
Liam Lawson still processing Red Bull demotion: "The year has just gone"
Liam Lawson says he's still mentally processing his Red Bull demotion after just two races, but insists his confidence remains intact
Alex Harrington
Published: Jul 19, 2025, 10:59 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Liam Lawson, Red Bull Racing
Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images
Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson has said that he's still processing what happened earlier in the season as he was released from his seat in Red Bull, swapping places with Yuki Tsunoda, after just two race weekends.
Speaking with F1.com, Lawson reflected on his brief stint at the Milton Keynes outfit before he was demoted in late March after underwhelming showings at the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix. With Tsunoda taking his place for the Japanese Grand Prix, Lawson now finds himself with 12 points while sitting behind the wheel of a Racing Bulls car.
"Honestly, not really – not yet. I think now it's not quite… I think the summer break is the time everybody mentally switches off, at least for a week or so," Lawson explained when asked if he'd had time to process everything that's happened this year.
"We all know we have a couple more races coming up before then. You're still in that mindset, you're still thinking about what just happened, how we're going to improve in the next couple of races, and how I'm going to improve myself. You're just in it."
After taking Sergio Perez's seat for this season, Lawson endured a nightmare start to his career at Red Bull. Qualifying 18th in the opening race before crashing out in the wet conditions, the following weekend in China saw him qualify at the very back of the grid and finish out of the points.
Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls Team
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
The decision to replace him was made the following Monday as Red Bull management met in Dubai.
“I think I would say one thing to be clear about is that between the first couple of races, to the team switch, then going to Japan, mentally for me nothing changed,” he continued.
“It’s been very heavily speculated that my confidence took a hit and stuff like this, which is completely false. From the start of the year, I felt the same as I always have.
“I think in two races, on tracks I’d never been to, it’s not really enough for my confidence… maybe six months into a season, if I’m still at that level, if the results are still like that, then I’d be feeling something – maybe my confidence would be taking a hit."
Heading towards the midpoint of the season, Lawson is looking ahead after a couple of weeks out of the car.
"It's nice to have a bit of time to breathe, but mentally I'm thinking about Belgium and Hungary that are coming up, and trying to go into that break with a good couple of races," he said.
Racing Bulls has been a better environment for the driver, who will be aiming for more consistency in the latter half of the season. But the onslaught of racing is being noticed by the Kiwi.
"Here, you're forced to basically come out of a race weekend, especially on a triple-header, have a day to think about what just happened, and then you're straight away thinking about the next race. You almost get lost in this world," he said.
"I don't know if it's healthy or not healthy, but you just think about F1, the performance and the result. I sit here now and we're nearly mid-July. The year has just gone. The fact we've done 12 races is insane, and they've just gone by like that."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Helmut Marko dampens Max Verstappen Red Bull exit concerns: "Can meet with whomever he wants"
Next article Aston Martin F1 chief gives progress update on Honda power unit ahead of 2026
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Alex Harrington
Fans can't get enough of Max Verstappen's floral race boots after Singapore win
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Fans can't get enough of Max Verstappen's floral race boots after Singapore win
Lando Norris casts doubt on Singapore GP sprint excitement: "I don't think it is"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Lando Norris casts doubt on Singapore GP sprint excitement: "I don't think it is"
Nike could return to Formula 1 for first time since Michael Schumacher era
Formula 1
Formula 1
Bahrain GP in Malaysia
Nike could return to Formula 1 for first time since Michael Schumacher era
More from
Liam Lawson
Who slept worst last night: Nikola Tsolov
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Who slept worst last night: Nikola Tsolov
Racing Bulls "not in a rush" to decide between three "fantastic" drivers for F1 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Racing Bulls "not in a rush" to decide between three "fantastic" drivers for F1 2027
Five contenders to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas for F1 2027
Formula 1
Formula 1
Azerbaijan GP
Five contenders to replace Esteban Ocon at Haas for F1 2027
More from
Red Bull Racing
Christian Horner clears air on “dream job” Ferrari rumours and sets return terms
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
6 h
Christian Horner clears air on “dream job” Ferrari rumours and sets return terms
Christian Horner “wasn’t given a reason” for his “painful” Red Bull exit after Dietrich Mateschitz’s death
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
9 h
Christian Horner “wasn’t given a reason” for his “painful” Red Bull exit after Dietrich Mateschitz’s death
Latest news
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
33 min
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1 1 h
Five key takeaways from F1's big African Grand Prix reveal in Rwanda
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
Indy NXT
IndL Indy NXT 2 h
Niels Koolen makes switch to Abel Motorsports ahead of 2027 Indy NXT campaign
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance
WCEE GT World Challenge Europe Endurance 3 h
GT World Challenge Portimao: All you need to know about season finale featuring Max Verstappen
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe