Liam Lawson ridicules Racing Bulls 'easy' theory: 'How can you know?'

Liam Lawson has ridiculed the suggestion that his Racing Bulls machinery is the easiest car on the grid to drive this season. Lawson conjured the best result of his F1 career to date in finishing a superb fifth in Sunday's Azerbaijan Grand Prix, following on from his highest grid slot of third at the end of an astonishing qualifying that included an F1 record six red flags. Following a slow start on his return to Racing Bulls after being ditched by Red Bull after just two grands prix, Lawson has scored points in four of his last seven grands prix, compared to one in the previous eight. With team-mate Isack Hadjar also enjoying a strong rookie season, with many pundits believing he will be promoted to Red Bull for 2026, it has been suggested that the VCARB 02 is a relatively benign car compared to some of its rivals. Following the race at the Baku City Circuit, it was put to Lawson that "a lot of people say that the Racing Bulls is the easiest car". Asked whether he agreed with the theory, speaking to the media, including RacingNews365 , the New Zealander gave the idea short shrift. "Unless you drive every single car on the grid, how can you know what each car is like to drive?" responded Lawson. "It's a consistent car. It's something that we can definitely say, and be proud of, that across the board, at all sorts of different tracks, it's consistently fast. "That doesn't mean it's easy to drive, but the speed is in the car, and that's been something we've been able to utilise across the season so far." On the back of his performance and result in Baku, Lawson now embarks on a run of races to finish the season with circuits he has experience of in an F1 car, starting with Singapore, where he was ninth in 2023 in deputising for an injured Daniel Ricciardo. Describing what unfolded in Azerbaijan as "extremely positive", Lawson added: "The main thing is, as I say, our car has been consistently good across the board at all sorts of different tracks, so that's very positive for us. "Going forward, we need to try and keep that consistency and try to find a little more where we're fighting for very good results. "We didn't quite have the speed for Williams [in Baku, with Carlos Sainz third], but to finish where we did, if we can consistently do that, it's very strong for us."