Lawson Misses Out on SQ3 in His Return to Red Bull

Liam Lawson has described his first day back behind the wheel of a Red Bull as "interesting." The New Zealander was eleventh in sprint qualifying and missed out on SQ3 despite having shown good potential in the early stages of the session: "Normally, you improve throughout qualifying and we started SQ1 quite strong, but then we didn't make the same step as the others" explained Lawson.

The 24 year old driver was called up on short notice to replace Isack Hadjar at Zandvoort after the Frenchman suffered a wrist injury. Lawson returns to Red Bull after his brief two race stint in 2025, while Yuki Tsunoda took his seat at Racing Bulls: "There's a lot to learn today. So far honestly I feel quite good in the car" he declared.

Lawson beat his teammate Max Verstappen in SQ1 but could not maintain the pace in SQ2, where he was eliminated: "Honestly I don't know, it's been an interesting day. I felt good during qualifying, I thought we would get through, so it's a shame" he stated.

The New Zealander was frustrated not to have made it to SQ3: "We definitely had potential to be up there today, so it's frustrating" admitted Lawson, who also hopes the team can solve the problems for Sunday's qualifying: "Obviously we'll try to fix it and put it all together for qualifying" he added.

Lawson finds himself between the two cars of his usual team, Racing Bulls, on the starting grid for the sprint race. Arvid Lindblad will start tenth, while Tsunoda will be twelfth: "It's a shame" repeated Lawson.

Lawson's return to Red Bull has been one of the most talked about topics of the weekend. The New Zealander has the opportunity to prove his worth at a top team, and his performance in sprint qualifying has been promising. Despite the elimination in SQ2, Lawson has shown he can compete with the best.

The second half of the season will be crucial for Lawson. The New Zealander hopes that his performance at Zandvoort will open the doors to a Red Bull seat in the future: "We had potential to be up there" he repeated.

Lawson trusts that the team can solve the problems ahead of Sunday's qualifying. The New Zealander has a unique opportunity to demonstrate his talent and does not want to waste it. Saturday's sprint race will be the first test for Lawson in his return to Red Bull.

Lawson's performance at Zandvoort has been a statement of intent. He has shown he can quickly adapt to a new car and compete at Verstappen's level. His future at Red Bull could depend on performances like this in the coming races. Lawson's opportunity is a reminder of how unpredictable Formula 1 is. An injury, a phone call, and a driver can go from being a reserve to a star. The New Zealander has the chance to write his own chapter in Red Bull's history.