Liam Lawson has revealed that he had not thought at all about possibly returning to Red Bull next season, during the period where a decision was being made on its driver pairing for 2026.
Lawson started the current campaign as a Red Bull driver alongside Max Verstappen but was demoted to Racing Bulls after just two races.
The New Zealander struggled to adapt to the RB21, something which has also seen Yuki Tsunoda – his replacement – have a disappointing campaign.
Since returning to Red Bull's sister team, Lawson has rediscovered his form and has been rewarded with a seat with Racing Bulls for next season.
He will be joined by Red Bull junior driver Arvid Lindblad, whilst Isack Hadjar has been promoted to replace Tsunoda.
At no point this season has Lawson thought about trying to manage a return to Red Bull next to Verstappen, with him happy to continue with Racing Bulls.
Asked if he thought about a possible return to Red Bull, Lawson told select media including RacingNews365: "It's not, honestly, something I've really thought about this year, especially with how when I came back, it was a very tricky few races.
"I think, for the first part of this year, honestly, I was focusing on finding my feet again and getting used to this car.
"I'd missed the first part of the pre-season with the development with where the car was going and we actually made some changes to the car to make it a bit more comfortable for me during the season.
"So it's honestly not something I've really thought about."
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