Liam Lawson heads into this weekend’s Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring with a renewed sense of focus and determination as he and the Racing Bulls team look to rebound from a difficult outing in Canada.
Lawson was forced to start from the pit lane in Montreal after the team made late changes to his power unit, only for cooling issues to ultimately force him into retirement. Racing Bulls lacked the pace to challenge for points throughout the weekend, a concern the team hopes to have addressed before arriving in Austria.
Team principal Laurent Mekies admitted after Canada that Racing Bulls simply “lacked the pace to challenge for the top 10,” but work has been done back at the team’s base in the UK in preparation for this weekend.
Chief technical officer Tim Goss added that they’ll “take forward some further setup adjustments to maximise the car’s capabilities.”
Lawson, meanwhile, is staying focused on the track ahead, not the narrative surrounding him.
“I’m coming into this weekend with fresh energy following Canada and am ready to fight for points with the team,” he said.
The Red Bull Ring is a circuit Lawson knows well, having enjoyed strong results there across multiple junior categories. During two consecutive FIA Formula 3 weekends in 2020, he qualified 12th and climbed to 6th in Race 1 before storming to victory in Race 2. A week later, he qualified 10th and finished 8th in the opening race but was forced to retire in Race 2.
In DTM in 2021, Lawson was dominant, taking pole in Race 1, qualifying P2 for Race 2 and went on to win both races.
He returned in 2022 with Formula 2, qualifying 14th, slipping to 20th early in the race due to starting on slick tyres in wet conditions, and charging back to cross the line in fifth, only to be demoted to 10th after a track limits penalty.
Despite his familiarity with the circuit, Formula 1 presents an entirely different challenge, with higher stakes and greater complexity.
“I’ve really enjoyed the track, but, obviously, in F1, it will bring an entirely new pressure,” Lawson acknowledged.
The Spielberg circuit, one of the shortest and fastest on the calendar, features just 10 corners but three DRS zones, meaning small gains or mistakes can make a big difference. Its balance of long straights and flowing corners puts a premium on downforce settings and tyre choice.
That tyre strategy has been a talking point this season with Pirelli’s introduction of the new C6 compound. Lawson believes Racing Bulls have been too conservative in their tyre selections during qualifying.
“It’s just not that different; honestly, it is not much of a step from the C5,” Lawson told RacingNews365.
“In some ways, you’re expecting a compound change, a shift, and it is not that big.
“We have not been brave enough to do what some teams do and run the C5 in qualifying. It has worked for some teams, but for us, we actually felt pretty comfortable on the C6, especially in Monaco.
“It is just not that different from the other steps between compounds.”
Lawson’s only points finish so far came in Monaco, where he made it into Q3, something he has yet to repeat this season.
Outside the car, speculation about Lawson’s confidence has persisted since his brief stint at Red Bull earlier this year.
Senior figures within the organisation, including Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, suggested Lawson was sent back to Racing Bulls to “rebuild confidence” after struggles in Australia and China.
But Lawson has pushed back against that characterisation.
“That is not my story,” he told RacingNews365.
“My confidence hasn’t changed since last year; it didn’t change in the Red Bull, and it didn’t change in the first couple of races back in the VCARB.
“It was great to score points in Monaco, and as much as that looked as if it gave me a bunch of confidence, for me, that hasn’t changed since (starting) the year.”
He’s also uninterested in comparisons with Yuki Tsunoda, who replaced him at Red Bull and has not exactly flourished since.
“If anybody else struggles in that car, it doesn’t change me; it doesn’t make it any better for me, so I am just focused on doing the best job in the car that I am in,” Lawson said.
“As much as I never got the chance to show what I was capable of in a Red Bull, it doesn’t really change too much.”
As the F1 circus returns to one of his most successful circuits, Lawson isn’t chasing narratives; he’s chasing points. And with a track record of winning at the Red Bull Ring, points are definitely a possibility for the Kiwi this weekend.
Header Image: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool
