Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has praised Liam Lawson for the "incredible contrast" between his successful three-round return in 2026 and the ill-fated spell that ended after just two rounds last year.
Lawson has since secured his F1 future with a contract extension at Racing Bulls for 2027, retaining his place alongside Arvid Lindblad following a strong campaign.
Mekies delivered his assessment after the São Paulo Grand Prix, where Lawson started third and finished seventh, having briefly run second.
The result continued his impressive form since returning to Racing Bulls. The New Zealander is comfortably ninth in the F1 drivers' standings as best of the rest behind the top four teams, and has single-handedly scored enough points (89) this season for Racing Bulls to be fifth in the constructors' table, which will be its best finish.
"When it comes to Liam, I can only congratulate him for another very strong weekend [at Interlagos]," Mekies told media, including RacingNews365.
"He was on a fantastic run at first. He did a very good job with us in the three races where he had to jump in, in an incredible contrast compared to his experience here a year ago at the beginning of the year."
Lawson builds on Red Bull return
Lawson received another opportunity with Red Bull when Isack Hadjar suffered a wrist injury during the summer break, deputising at the Dutch, Italian and Spanish Grands Prix.
He finished seventh at Zandvoort and sixth in Madrid, either side of P14 at Monza, collecting points twice during his temporary return to the senior team.
That progress continued back at Racing Bulls, with São Paulo marking his fourth seventh-place finish in five grands prix.
His subsequent contract extension confirmed another season on the grid after prolonged uncertainty over his future.
"And certainly, from that point, we all see that when he returned to Racing Bulls, he has shown on track another step again," Mekies added about Lawson's recent form.
"And what he showed [in Brazil] is the perfect representation of how strongly he's now performing."
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Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Samuel Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on the São Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil! Max Verstappen’s simply staggering recovery from 21st on the grid is a key talking point, as is Ferrari’s current power unit struggles.
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