Source: Radio New Zealand
Liam Lawson of New Zealand RUDY CAREZZEVOLI / AFP
The Racing Bulls boss has some encouraging words for New Zealand driver Liam Lawson.
Lawson is on a break after completing his first full season in Formula 1 which presented him with many challenges.
Lawson was demoted from Red Bull to junior team Racing Bulls after just two rounds of the 2025 championship.
Liam Lawson (NZL) Visa Cash App Racing Bulls during the 2025 Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. IAN BUNDEY / MPS AGENCY © / PHOTOSPORT
Despite seven top ten finishes during the season Lawson had to wait until the last round to have his seat confirmed for 2026.
There was plenty of praise for the 23-year-old during the season, most notably after his sixth place finish in Austria and fifth in Azerbaijan.
His team-mate Isack Hadjar has been promoted to Red Bull for 2026, while Arvid Lindblad will join him at Racing Bulls.
Lawson now has another year to prove himself and Racing Bulls Team Principal Alan Permane is encouraged.
“I truly see genius in him,” Permane told PlanetF1.
“I think it’s up to all of us, him included, to try and understand, when everything is going well – and it often is – like during exceptional races in Austria, Budapest, and during qualifying and the race in Baku, what the secret is to this success.
“We have to try to reproduce that throughout the season.”
Lawson said he was relieved to have secured a seat for next year and had learnt from his roller-coaster run.
“I think doing a first full season – you go in with a goal of how you think the year will go,” he said.
“Obviously this year went a different way than what I thought and I’ve definitely learned to roll with that.
“Going into next year, I’ll be in a much better position because of it.”
F1 testing starts in Spain at the end of January with another two sessions in Bahrain in February. The opening round is in Australia in March.
Alan Permane, Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls, 2025. JAKUB PORZYCKI / AFP
2026 F1 calendar
- 6-8 March: Australia
- 13-15 March: China
- 27-29 March: Japan
- 10-12 April: Bahrain
- 17-19 April: Saudi Arabia
- 1-3 May: Miami
- 22-24 May: Canada
- 5-7 June: Monaco
- 12-14 June: Spain (Barcelona)
- 26-28 June: Austria
- 3-5 July: Great Britain
- 17-19 July: Belgium
- 24-26 July: Hungary
- 21-23 August: Netherlands
- 4-6 September: Italy
- 11-13 September: Spain (Madrid)
- 24-26 September: Azerbaijan
- 9-11 October: Singapore
- 23-25 October: United States (Austin)
- 30 October-1 November: Mexico
- 6-8 November: Brazil
- 19-21 November: Las Vegas
- 27-29 November: Qatar
- 4-6 December: Abu Dhabi
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand