Liam Lawson and Racing Bulls' strong start to the F1 season has been lauded by Naomi Schiff, who highlighted the impressive way the New Zealander has rebounded after his experience at Red Bull.
The racing driver-turned-pundit argued that being switched with Yuki Tsunoda two rounds into the 2025 campaign was "for the better", with the 24-year-old now thriving at the Faenza-based squad whilst the Japanese driver sits on F1's sidelines.
Lawson has woven together a fine run of form this season, finishing inside the top 10 for the past five rounds, with two of those performances earning him sixth place.
In fact, across the opening nine rounds of the year, he has failed to score points just twice, and has helped pull the Alan Permane-led team to within one point of Alpine in the hunt for fifth in the constructors' championship.
When it was put to Schiff that Lawson and Racing Bulls have been a revelation this season, she agreed.
"It has been," the former W-Series driver said, speaking on Sky Sports F1. "It was really tough what they did to Liam Lawson; they promoted him into that seat quite quickly, and they removed him from that seat even quicker.
"And yes, that is very demotivating. I think it's borderline embarrassing sometimes for drivers; you come in there, you think you've made it to the big team, and then you just get whacked back, and that's not nice — it's not, it's not a good feeling.
"But he's managed to turn it around, and I think if anything, it's for the better."
Schiff pointed to the "nurturing" environment Racing Bulls has fostered for its drivers, underlining the contrast between how the Red Bull family has operated in the past.
"He's in a car that's clearly competing well, in an environment that clearly is nurturing them a little bit better than what the old version of Red Bull used to do, and pulling out great results week in, week out," she added.
"They're now putting a lot of pressure on Alpine for their fifth spot in the constructors' title; happy times for both of them."
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