Liam Lawson discloses element he 'struggled with' at Racing Bulls as fight for F1 survival intensifies

Liam Lawson has explained that he found it difficult to "put it all together" at Racing Bulls earlier in the F1 season.

In the rounds following his demotion from Red Bull, the New Zealander was unable to compete with team-mate Isack Hadjar.

However, since a "turning point" at the Austrian Grand Prix, he has been a closer match for the young Frenchman, who is expected to partner Max Verstappen at the Milton Keynes-based squad next year.

Meanwhile, Lawson is left fighting for his F1 future along with Yuki Tsunoda. Whilst both could form the Racing Bulls line-up in 2026, F2 driver Arvid Lindblad is knocking on the door of a seat at the Faenza team.

Ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, where the 23-year-old endured arguably the worst weekend of his career so far with two heavy, session-ending crashes in practice, he reflected on the campaign in an interview with Formula 1.

When asked if something had clicked during the season, or if it was the culmination of little details, Lawson replied: "I think little details here and there, but I think we definitely found some things midway through the season to make me more comfortable in the car.

"And I think mid-season point, probably around Austria, was the turning point, I would say, in terms of the results coming in.

"But it's not a lot really different. It's not like we found a bunch of lap time in Austria, and that's just been coming since then; the pace has been quite good since the start.

"It's just a lot has to happen in a Formula 1 weekend. And to put it all together is what we struggled with, and that's what's clicked recently.

"And obviously, I'm well aware that it can change very quickly in the sport, but that's what we're trying to keep consistent."

Not the time to process

Having been unceremoniously and unexpectedly dropped by Red Bull just two rounds after his promotion at the end of last year, Lawson has been on a difficult journey across the season.

However, with his future in the championship on the line, he insists now is not the time to try and process where he has come from the start of the campaign to now.

"I think it's something that maybe I'll look back on more when the season's done," he stated. "But you know, I thought that about the summer break. I thought maybe I'd have some time to reflect on it.

"And in the end, I didn't really think too much about it. I think it's something that, at least during the season, there's so much that we're doing, so much going on, that I haven't really thought about it too much.

"Naturally, my brain goes there sometimes, and I think about a little bit, but we have so much going on, and especially now, it's a very important time in the season for me for next year, that maybe it's something I reflect on more in the offseason."