Red Bull has conceded Liam Lawson suffered psychologically following his demotion back to Racing Bulls after just two Formula 1 races with Red Bull in 2025.
Lawson endured a nightmare start to the 2025 season, dropped by Red Bull following a downward spiral and sent back to junior team, Racing Bulls.
Results were not instant for the New Zealander as his confidence took time to return, not scoring hist first point until round eight in Monaco.
But Lawson rallied back in second half of the season to finish 14th in the standings on 38 points, three places and five points clear of his replacement Yuki Tsunoda.
Red Bull CEO and Team Principal Laurent Mekies, managing Racing Bulls at the time revealed the psychological impact the demotion took on Lawson.
“Well, we are well aware that the psychological effect is huge,” he said at the Autosport Business Exchange London to delegates, including Motorsport Week.
“But not just for those situations about a second car, just for any very high-level athletes.”
Red Bull to focus on supporting both drivers in 2026 after Liam Lawson disaster
Mekies hinted that the environment at Red Bull must allow drivers and wider team members to bring their best to race weekends in light of Lawson’s struggles.
“That last bit of performance is intimately linked to how you feel, how you are supported and what’s in your mind.
“So we are really trying to support both our drivers with the best environment possible for them to express their talent.
“But it’s the same spirit that you try to have for any of our employees.
“In the same way that you need to create the environment for the drivers to express themselves and go fast, you need to create the environment for your engineers, for your mechanics, for your staff, to express their potential, their talent at best. So it is the same again.”
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