Liam Lawson believes his three races for Red Bull as a super-sub injury replacement "didn't really change anything" for him in the ecosystem of drivers.
Lawson was called up for the Dutch, Italian, and Spanish Grands Prix as injury cover for Isack Hadjar, with the New Zealander returning to the team he was dropped from after just two tough races in early 2025.
He scored points on two occasions, with a best-of-the-rest seventh at Zandvoort on a weekend Red Bull was the fourth-best team and sixth in Spain before Hadjar returned in Azerbaijan.
Hadjar was then confirmed as Max Verstappen's permanent team-mate for 2027, but when asked whether his strong showing at the senior team had had any impact about a potential re-promotion, Lawson denied this, saying he was never intended to drive the RB22 in 2026.
"I mean, the thing is, I wasn't meant to drive this year for Red Bull," Lawson told media, including RacingNews365, when asked if his performances had changed anything for him within the ecosystem.
"Obviously I've been in the fight with VCARB, and I wasn't looking at it, to be honest.
"It was great to do those races; it was challenging, but it didn't really change anything outside of that for next year.
"It's pretty standard, which is not surprising.
"For me, I didn't come out of last year and question my ability to drive a race car, so it is nice that I've been able to have those races and maybe show the rest of the world [what I am capable of doing].
"But it didn't change anything for me, to be honest."
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding as they look back on the Azerbaijan GP but also look ahead to F1's return this weekend to Malaysia! Rumours linking Christian Horner with a return to the sport is a major talking point.
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