It's only temporary, but Liam Lawson's return to the top Red Bull seat is well-deserved.
Liam Lawson's stint with Red Bull last year quickly ended after only two rounds. It surprised most people in the Formula One paddock (probably everyone without the Red Bull management title).
It got everyone thinking, "Why was the team so convinced that Lawson didn't have enough in his tank to extract more performance from the car?" "Is this another case of Red Bull pulling the plug too early?"
Is Lawson another Gasly in the making?
But the Kiwi driver didn't mind all the rubbish talk. He went back to the Racing Bulls garage, put his head down, got the work done, and scored points.
Now, he gets a shot at redemption, with Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar sustaining a wrist injury that will keep him sidelined at the 2026 F1 Dutch Grand Prix. Lawson will step up to Hadjar's Red Bull seat, while reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda will replace Lawson's in the Racing Bulls.
Lawson is currently the best in the midfield
Take away the drivers from the four front-running teams (Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull), and you've got Lawson as the best of the rest. He currently has 43 points to his name, one precarious point ahead of Alpine's Pierre Gasly.
Most importantly, he is winning his intra-team battle with rookie driver Arvid Lindblad.
Lawson has a 20-point lead over Lindblad. He has a slight advantage in qualifying sessions (6-5), and he's 8-3 against Lindblad in the Sunday races.
Save for a lone DNF in Miami when he collided with Gasly, it has been a relatively clean campaign for the 24-year-old driver. Lawson scored points in 8 of the 11 races so far, with sixth-place finishes in the Monaco and British Grand Prix as his best results.
Even Oliver Rowland, the reigning Formula E World Champion and Lindblad's manager, had heaps of praise for Lawson. Rowland pointed to the Kiwi driver as the "perfect benchmark" for Lindblad to follow.
No major upgrades for the RB22 at Zandvoort
It's not exactly bad news for Lawson, but Red Bull might not be bringing any major upgrades to Circuit Zandvoort. he indications are that the RB22 will arrive largely in its Hungary specification, potentially with smaller circuit-specific changes. The team might be looking at Zandvoort as a testing ground to understand the car's existing issues.
Still, it will be exciting to see Lawson again in the Red Bull colors. His aggressive, unrelenting driving style will be incredible to watch alongside Max Verstappen.
