Alan Permane revealed that Liam Lawson returned deeply shaken to Racing Bulls after losing his Red Bull seat. According to the team principal, the New Zealand driver needed time to regain confidence before returning to his best performance in Formula 1.
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After replacing Daniel Ricciardo for part of the 2024 season, Lawson was promoted to race alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2025. However, a difficult start, marked by an accident in Australia and the last grid positions in the Sprint and main race in China, led the team to quickly return him to Racing Bulls.
Permane said he immediately noticed the change in the driver’s behavior when he returned. “He didn’t talk much about it at first. Honestly, he was down. He probably won’t like me saying that, because at the time he said he was fine, but you could tell. We knew him from the previous year and clearly saw that he was no longer the same guy.”
The manager emphasized that the team sought to support the driver during this period, but made a point of stressing that the recovery was Lawson’s own merit. “I don’t want to say we rebuilt him, because that would be too dramatic. We just supported him and helped him in any way we could. He works incredibly hard, has a great relationship with his engineers, and it was he who managed to turn things around.”
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According to Permane, Lawson intensified his work in the simulator and off-track, which eventually reflected in the results. After the renewal for 2026, the manager also advised the driver to eliminate daily distractions.
“I told him to forget everything outside the team. After we confirmed his contract for 2026, I told him not to worry about flights, hotels, or anything else. Just focus on the work. You can see that this season. He is fully focused, works much closer with the engineers, knows exactly what he wants from the car, and can drive it in the best possible way,” he concluded.
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