Liam Lawson's F1 career has taken another turn after two challenging drives for Red Bull. Photo: AFP / Greg Baker
Kiwi racing driver Liam Lawson says he will be giving his all for Racing Bulls as he tries to get his Formula One career back on track.
In a controversial move, Red Bull demoted Lawson from its main Formula One team to its development unit, Racing Bulls, after two poor placings in the opening Grand Prix in Melbourne and Shanghai.
Lawson will partner Isack Hadjar for Racing Bulls for the remainder of the season, as Yuki Tsunoda replaces him as four-time world champion Max Verstappen's team-mate in the Red Bull team.
The 23-year-old Lawson has taken the downgrade on the chin, while Red Bull has come under fire for its treatment of him, after just the two drives in the main team. He spun out late in the Melbourne race, after qualifying 18th of the 20 cars, and finished 14th in the sprint in China and 12th in the main race.
Lawson, who drove for Racing Bulls last year before gaining promotion, has performed well in the past at Suzuka, venue for this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, with placings there in the Super Formula Championship before his rise to Formula One.
"I'm really looking forward to be racing in Japan this weekend," Lawson said on Tuesday.
"Suzuka is one of my favourite tracks on the calendar. It's cool to drive and very high speed, which makes it great fun in a Formula One car."
He said this weekend was a big opportunity for him as he rejoined Racing Bulls.
"As always, I'll be giving it everything I have."
Racing Bulls racing director Alan Permaine said Suzuka was one of the ultimate challenges for cars, drivers and tyres.
"It has almost every type of corner that we encounter over a season, all in one lap. From very high speed, to long sweeping medium speed, fast changes of direction, heavy braking and a tight chicane with kerbs to ride," he said.
"We welcome Liam back to the team at a track he knows well from his season in Super Formula in 2023 and look forward to him and Isack working together to extract the maximum performance from the car here, and for the rest of the season."
RB team-mates Liam Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda, 2024. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Lawson's demotion has seen Red Bull chastised by some former drivers for not giving him enough chances, while Verstappen "liked" an Instagram post by former F1 driver Giedo van der Garde who said: "They made a decision - fully aware - gave Liam two races only to crush his spirit."
But Lawson has also been the subject of some trenchant criticism also, most notably from former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher.
"I know I'll be hated for this by one or two spectators but I wouldn't have put Liam Lawson in a Formula One car at all," he told German website Formel1.de.
"Because one thing is also clear; Lawson will probably never become a top driver, and in a situation like this, you might as well go for the next one in line and try your luck."
When Red Bull announced the change, its principal Christian Horner, said: "We have a duty of care to protect and develop Liam.
"And together we see that after such a difficult start it makes sense to act quickly so Liam can gain experience, as he continues his F1 career with (the) Racing Bulls, an environment and a team he knows very well."
Meanwhile, Horner has left Tsunoda with one main target.
"Performance-wise he (Horner) wants me to be as close to Max as possible," Tsunoda told the BBC.
"In some races I can help with the strategy but he also promised me in some situations that if I'm able to be in front of Max that he wouldn't necessarily ask me to swap positions and make Max win."
