Liam Lawson will be driving for Red Bull for the 2026 F1 Dutch GP, replacing Isack Hadjar who suffered a wrist injury. Reserve driver and former starter for both teams, Yuki Tsunoda, will take Lawson’s place in the Racing Bull this weekend.
During Thursday’s print media session, Lawson discussed how he’s feeling ahead of this weekend and how much preperation he has been able to have.
Liam Lawson discusses finding out he was driving for Red Bull at the 2026 Dutch GP
Lawson only found out he was driving for Red Bull for the Dutch GP on Monday, giving him a short amount of time to prepare. Red Bull announced that Isack Hadjar wouldn’t be racing for the team this weekend after sustaining a wrist injury during the summer break.
During a media session at the F1 Dutch GP Lawson discussed when he recieved the Red Bull call up, stating that his “week changed pretty quickly.”
The New Zealander also admitted that he was only able to practice on the simulator on Wednesday for the first time.
“Monday, so I literally landed, I hadn’t even got off the plane, so I’ve come from basically being on break and landed in the UK for what I thought was going to be obviously VCARB prep. And Alan [Permane] called me and basically told me what was going on. So my week changed pretty quickly.
“Just yesterday, so I did yesterday’s simulator.”
With this announcement, Red Bull and the Racing Bulls have had extra attention coming into this weekend. Lawson spoke on his focus ahead of the event.
“It’s been okay, honestly. Other than a lot more of you guys here today, outside of that, it’s been pretty normal, obviously.
“I mean, honestly, the main thing for me to focus on is getting ready to drive this car. And there’s really four sort of differences that are going to come with that. But yeah, that’s what I’ve got this afternoon to focus on.”
Lawson on how he is approaching this weekend and the differences he feels since starting at Red Bull in 2025
Liam Lawson has had a good season so far and is currently P9 in the F1 Drivers’ Championship. He finished P14 in the Championship in 2025, ending the season with Racing Bulls after being replaced by Tsunoda in the Red Bull after just two races.
Ahead of the 2026 Dutch GP, Lawson discussed whether he has thought about this weekend as a chance to audition for the ever changing second Red Bull seat for 2027.
“I mean, honestly, it’s been a really good year so far for me and for us as a team. So I haven’t really thought anything about that. And obviously with one weekend as well, it’s going to be more challenging than anything with trying to adjust to this car.
“So yeah, right now for me, it’s just about trying to get something out of this weekend and maximise. It’s a great opportunity, obviously, but at the same time, I’ve got my championship that I’m also focused on.”
The 24 year-old opened up about how different it feels, as well as how much he’s learnt since starting at Red Bull in 2025.
“Yeah, I mean, everything’s really different, to be honest. For me, I’m coming in for this weekend, and in a unique situation to try and maximise one weekend.
“It’s very different to being in your own car, being your own team, so yeah, at the same time, I’ve had a lot of races since then, Formula 1 as well, so I’ve learnt a huge amount.
“And yeah, I’d like to try and take as much of that into this weekend as I can. But it’s for sure going to be interesting. Obviously, it’s a tough track, the weather’s going to be very interesting as well, so yeah, let’s see.”
Lawson on how he’s prepared for the 2026 Dutch GP
Lawson only had three days to prepare before arriving in Zandvoort. This means he hasn’t had a lot of time to understand the car and prepare with the team. Lawson has had one day to practice on the simulator and get a feel for the car.
Ahead of the 2026 F1 Dutch GP, Liam Lawson spoke about how himself and the team have prepared for this weekend.
“I mean, yeah, it’s not actually been that different from any other weekends, because we haven’t really had that much time.
“So I did a simulator yesterday. So I spent the full day basically trying to learn as much as I could for this weekend, and getting fitted in the car as well. That was on Tuesday, just doing seat checks, making sure everything’s comfortable, and honestly that’s about it.
“And then you’re just going into a lot more detail about everything. Obviously, when you’ve done a lot of races and you’re comfortable, everything’s a bit more routine. But this week it’s been a lot more detailed, focused on the differences that I’m going to feel driving the car and trying to be ready for those as well.”
Lawson on the most challenging weekend of his career
This isn’t the first time Liam Lawson has been called up last minute by Red Bull to replace a driver due to injury. In 2023 Lawson made his F1 debut at the Dutch GP. This came after Daniel Ricciardo crashed in FP2 and broke his hand. He used his 5 races to prove he should be in F1, finally getting a full-time seat at the United States GP in Austin in 2024.
Lawson gets a rare second chance to race in the Red Bull at the 2026 Dutch GP and prove himself to the team. However, the Kiwi admitted that while this weekend will be tough, it’s not the most challenging of his career.
“I mean I’ve had some pretty tough weekends in Formula 1 to be fair.
“Literally I think three years ago was Zandvoort when obviously Daniel had his injury and I jumped in. So that’s got to be number one toughest weekends ever. And I would hope that this is not tougher than that.
“But it’s going to be tricky for sure. But obviously I’m grateful to have had those experiences in the past as well, I think they sort of help build you for something like this.”
