Alan Permane Hails Liam Lawson Despite Red Bull Axe

Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane believes Liam Lawson showed flashes of “genius” during a difficult 2025 Formula 1 campaign.



The New Zealander’s season was defined by upheaval, pressure, and a gradual climb back into form.



Lawson, 23, was promoted to Red Bull at the start of the year but was swiftly demoted just two races into the season.



Struggles to adapt to the demanding RB21 left him vulnerable during the opening rounds.



The setback followed an already fragmented introduction to Formula 1.



Liam Lawson had previously stepped in mid-season for Daniel Ricciardo in both 2023 and 2024, denying him a conventional rookie pathway.



His move to the Milton Keynes-based senior team was meant to be different.



An uninterrupted winter and full pre-season programme were expected to give him stability for the first time.



That opportunity disappeared when Red Bull opted to switch Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda early in the campaign.



The decision left Lawson without the benefit of winter testing continuity or deep integration with a new engineering group.



Starting from behind, Lawson needed several races to approach the pace of his new Racing Bulls team-mate Isack Hadjar.



The gap only began to close around the Monaco Grand Prix.



From that point onward, Lawson regularly matched the highly rated Frenchman, who is set to partner Max Verstappen at Red Bull in 2026.



Across the final 16 races of the season, Hadjar outscored Lawson by just two points.



The margin highlighted how competitive Lawson became once settled.



Strong weekends in Austria, Hungary, and Azerbaijan stood out amid a run of consistent finishes.



Those performances may have been decisive for his future in the sport.



While Tsunoda will serve as Red Bull’s reserve driver next season, Lawson has retained his Racing Bulls seat.



He will line up alongside rookie Arvid Lindblad in 2026.



Permane acknowledged that Lawson’s underlying potential was clear, even during tougher periods.



“I really see some genius in there,” he said.



The team principal pointed to Lawson’s best races as examples of what he can deliver.



“And I think it’s down to all of us, himself included, to try and figure out, when it goes very, very well, and it does go very, very well a lot of times – you have exceptional races in Austria, in Budapest, that qualifying and race in Baku – just what’s clicking then?”



“And let’s do that across the whole season.”



For Lawson, consistency rather than raw speed now appears the key to long-term security in Formula 1.
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