Liam Lawson dismissed suggestions that Racing Bulls’ VCARB 02 is the “easiest car” on the grid after delivering his best Formula 1 finish to date with fifth place in Baku. The New Zealander, who started a career-high third after a chaotic, red-flag-strewn qualifying, has now scored points in four of his last seven grands prix.

‘How can you know?’

Lawson pushed back on the narrative by stressing that only drivers with experience of every car could make such claims. He characterized the Racing Bulls package not as easy but as consistent—and consistently fast—across a variety of tracks. That, he said, has allowed the team to capitalize more regularly as the season has progressed.

Form, context and targets

• Upturn: four points finishes in seven races following a slower restart to life back at Racing Bulls.
• Benchmark: team-mate Isack Hadjar’s strong rookie year has fueled talk of a Red Bull promotion for 2026.
• Perspective: Lawson noted that in Baku the outfit lacked outright pace versus Williams—Carlos Sainz finished third—but that consistent top results are within reach.

Lawson now heads into a run of venues he knows in F1 machinery, starting with Singapore, where he scored ninth in 2023 as an injury substitute for Daniel Ricciardo. The emphasis, he said, is on maintaining consistency and finding small gains to fight for “very good results.”