Liam Lawson Returns to Red Bull at Monza

Liam Lawson will get another shot in a Red Bull at Monza, with the team confirming the New Zealander will again stand in for the injured Isack Hadjar at the Italian Grand Prix.

Lawson impressed on his return to the grid at Zandvoort, dragging the RB22 into the points with a composed drive to seventh. Thrown into the car late, he handled the chaos, the pressure and the expectation, and left the Netherlands with something far more valuable than six points: trust inside the Red Bull garage.

He now carries that into Monza, one of Formula 1’s most unforgiving stages.

Lawson steps up again

Red Bull moved quickly to lock in continuity. Hadjar is still recovering from the wrist injury he picked up over the summer break, and the team has no intention of rushing him back.

“Liam will drive alongside Max [Verstappen] at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, while Isack continues to make encouraging progress following the wrist injury sustained during the summer break. The team is closely monitoring his rehabilitation and will take no unnecessary risks with his return to competition and wishes him a speedy recovery,” the team said in a statement.

Lawson’s Zandvoort weekend underlined why he is so highly regarded within the Red Bull system. Little preparation, a tricky car, a demanding circuit – and he still delivered.

“It's been a good weekend,” he said after the Dutch Grand Prix. “It was good to extract everything out of Quali. It's been tough to try and get my head around this car in a short space of time, but I've enjoyed it.”

Monza will ask different questions. Low downforce, high speed, heavy braking zones. But it will also give him a clearer platform: a second consecutive weekend in the same car, with data, references and a proper build-up. For a driver pushing to turn stand-in roles into something permanent, this is a crucial audition.

Tsunoda back in the shop window

There is movement at Racing Bulls as well, and it carries its own tension.

Yuki Tsunoda will again take Lawson’s usual seat there, with the Faenza-based outfit confirming: “Yuki will drive for the team at the Italian GP this weekend.”

The Japanese driver, who lost his full-time grid spot at the end of 2025, used Zandvoort to remind the paddock of his pace and aggression. He finished 11th, agonisingly close to a point, but more importantly showed he has not lost his edge.

“I definitely enjoyed it overall, and yeah, I think I gave it 100%, as much as I can,” the 26-year-old said. “I think I did pretty okay.”

Monza gives him another chance to prove that “pretty okay” can quickly become unignorable. In a market where seats are tight and patience even tighter, every lap is a sales pitch.

Iwasa’s chance in Verstappen’s car

There will be another fresh face in Red Bull colours on Friday.

Ayumu Iwasa is set to drive Verstappen’s Red Bull in Free Practice 1, a rare and valuable window in the reigning champions’ machinery. One session, one shot to show he can handle the weight of that car, that team, that expectation.

For Red Bull, Monza becomes more than just another weekend in the title march. It is a live assessment centre: Lawson under the spotlight in race trim, Tsunoda fighting to stay in the conversation, Iwasa stepping into the world champion’s cockpit.

Hadjar heals. The others audition.

At the Temple of Speed, futures inside the Red Bull system will be measured in tenths.