The Racing Bulls boss explained that the New Zealander lost confidence after his brief stint in the main team in 2025. Lawson has recovered his best level this season and is key in Racing Bulls' fight with Alpine.
Alan Permane, Racing Bulls boss, has revealed that Liam Lawson "wasn't the same" when he returned to the Faenza team after his demotion from Red Bull in 2025. The New Zealander lost confidence after his brief stint in the main team, where he only contested two races before being replaced by Isack Hadjar: "He didn't say much at the beginning, honestly, his head was down" declared Permane on the Beyond The Grid podcast.
Lawson had impressed as Daniel Ricciardo's substitute in 2023 and was promoted to Red Bull for 2025 after replacing the Australian in the last six races of the previous season. However, his time in the main team was a disaster, with a crash in Australia and a last place qualifying in China, which led to the decision to return him to Racing Bulls after just two Grands Prix.
"We obviously knew him from the previous year, we could tell he certainly wasn't the same, and I don't want to say we rebuilt him because that's a bit dramatic, but we just supported him and helped where we could. He works incredibly hard and works incredibly well with his engineering team, and he did" explained Permane.
The Racing Bulls boss highlighted Lawson's recovery and his ability to focus on what matters: "What I told him last year was: 'forget about everything outside of this,' especially after we confirmed him for 2026, I told him: 'there's nothing that should be more important than this, don't worry about this flight or that flight or this hotel, or if you want to go there, forget all that and just focus on this'" said Permane.
Lawson has responded brilliantly this season. The New Zealander has scored 39 points so far this year, already surpassing his 2025 total, and has been key in Racing Bulls' fight with Alpine for fifth position in the constructors' championship. Both teams arrive at the Hungarian Grand Prix tied on 61 points.
Permane praised the way Lawson has approached the season: "You can see that with him this year, he definitely has done it, he's totally focused, it's a cliché but he is, and I'm very glad that you can see that in his driving. He's much more aware of the car, I think he works better and closer with his engineers, he knows what he wants from the car and is able to drive it in a way to get the most out of the car" he stated.
The Racing Bulls boss also referred to Lawson's driving style: "People talk about driving style and 'this driver has a particular style, or that driver has a particular style,' I think the best drivers don't have a style. I think Liam is doing a bit of that this year, he's discovering how to drive these cars, what's the best way to get everything out of this car, and he's doing it, and I think he can do it because he only focuses on driving, and he doesn't worry too much about the outside world" concluded Permane.
Lawson has become the leader of Racing Bulls and a reference for his young teammate Arvid Lindblad. The New Zealander has shown that he can overcome difficult moments and that he has the talent to compete at the highest level.
