Liam Lawson Returns to Racing Bulls for Baku

Liam Lawson returns to familiar territory this weekend with something rare in modern Formula 1: clarity.

After three whirlwind outings as a stand-in for Red Bull, the Kiwi is back in his regular Racing Bulls seat for Baku – and he does so with his stock quietly rising inside a system that had just demoted him two races into 2025.

Making a point in Red Bull colours

Thrown into the senior Red Bull team at short notice, Lawson did far more than simply keep the car on the road.

At Zandvoort, with minimal preparation in a new machine, he qualified just 0.115s behind Max Verstappen and then delivered when the chaos hit. Verstappen crashed on the opening lap; the other Red Bull-owned cars faltered. Lawson steered through the mayhem to seventh, the only one of the four Red Bull entries to score points at the Dutch Grand Prix.

The momentum carried into Monza, even if the result did not. A damaged front wing ruined his shot at the top 10 in Italy, masking another composed drive in the midfield traffic.

Madrid told the fuller story. At the Spanish Grand Prix, Lawson converted opportunity into a clean, hard-earned sixth place. Across his three-race stint, he walked away with 14 championship points – a return that would stand out for any full-time driver, let alone a mid-season deputy dropped from the main programme weeks earlier.

Back to Racing Bulls – and back to Baku

Now he steps out of the Red Bull garage and back into Racing Bulls, but this time with a single brief. No more split focus. No more juggling simulator work and preparation between two different cars while Isack Hadjar recovered.

For Lawson, that means a proper build-up to a circuit that already carries good memories.

Baku was the scene of his best Formula 1 result so far. Twelve months ago at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, he qualified an impressive third and raced to fifth, attacking the walls and threading the needle on a track that punishes hesitation. Returning there in Racing Bulls colours gives him a clear target and a familiar reference point.

Constructors fight tightens

While Lawson was away on Red Bull duty, Racing Bulls felt the cost.

Their cushion over Alpine in the constructors’ standings has been trimmed to just 11 points. The gap would have been even smaller without a major twist earlier in the season, when Pierre Gasly was stripped of his Monaco Grand Prix podium, handing Racing Bulls a significant reprieve in the battle for prize money and prestige.

Now Lawson’s task is obvious: protect that advantage, and if the street circuit plays to Racing Bulls’ strengths again, stretch it.

A different kind of Thursday start

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend will fire up earlier than usual. The schedule has been pulled forward by a day, with track action beginning on Thursday night (NZT) to avoid clashing with the country’s annual remembrance day on September 27.

By then, Lawson will be back in the blue of Racing Bulls, back on the Baku streets that showcased his nerve a year ago – and back with a chance to turn a strong audition into something more permanent.