Liam Lawson has delivered a standout performance at the Austrian Grand Prix qualifying session, out-qualifying his former Red Bull teammate and reigning World Champion Max Verstappen for the first time in the 2025 Formula 1 season. The 23-year-old New Zealander, now racing for Racing Bulls, secured an impressive sixth place on the grid at the Red Bull Ring, edging Verstappen who could only manage seventh due to yellow flags disrupting his final Q3 run.
This achievement marks Lawson's best qualifying result of the season and his highest grid position since the 2024 Sao Paulo Grand Prix, where he started fifth. It also makes him the highest-placed Red Bull-affiliated driver on the grid in Austria, a significant milestone considering his challenging start to the year.
Lawson began 2025 with the senior Red Bull team but was demoted to Racing Bulls after just two difficult races alongside Verstappen. During those initial outings, Lawson suffered an average qualifying deficit of 1.431 seconds to the Dutchman, including the Sprint race. Despite this, he has been steadily rebuilding his confidence and pace, culminating in his breakthrough qualifying performance at Spielberg.
Reflecting on his achievement, Lawson was quick to dismiss any notions of revenge against Verstappen. "It's not revenge, I haven't really raced him at all, but it is a good position," he told media including RacingNews365 and Motorsport Week. "We maximised today, but I don't expect to be racing him tomorrow and some of the guys around us, but some of the guys behind, we will try that." His grounded perspective highlights his focus on the race ahead rather than past rivalries.
Lawson expressed immense pride in the hard work of the Racing Bulls team, particularly the efforts to tailor the car to his driving style and make him more comfortable. "I'm more proud of the team for a lot of hard work recently, especially around my side to make me more comfortable around the car and help things suit me, and I think today reflected that," he said. "It is such small things at the moment and the team has been doing a good job to keep chasing it, we can't afford to miss anything because everyone is making incremental gains." This attention to detail paid off as Lawson managed to put together a smooth and consistent qualifying session, translating his strong practice pace into a solid grid position.
His performance has been a long time coming. Lawson noted, "It feels like it's been a long time! It's really cool to have a good Quali." He acknowledged that while his pace in practice sessions had been promising in recent races such as Canada and Barcelona, it hadn't translated into qualifying success until now. "This weekend, of all the weekends to get it across the line, it's been cool because it's so close. It puts pressure on us behind the wheel to execute, and same on the team. With the car we've been fine-tuning all weekend and we don't have time to miss anything, because everybody else is chasing as well. It's cool to get it across the line!"
Despite this qualifying high, Lawson's race day challenge remains significant. He has only one top-10 finish this season, an eighth place at the Monaco Grand Prix, leaving him 18th in the Drivers' Championship standings heading into Austria. He is optimistic about scoring points in Spielberg, acknowledging the tricky nature of tire degradation and race traffic. "I hope so! At the same time, the [tyre degradation] is decent, and the long runs are tricky. We had a good long run [in practice], but it's always different in a race when you're in traffic, and I'm sure there's going to be a mix of strategies," he commented.
Meanwhile, Lawson's rookie teammate Isack Hadjar faced a tougher qualifying session. The 20-year-old Frenchman, who has been turning heads with his consistency, was knocked out in Q2 and will start Sunday's race from 13th on the grid. Hadjar described his qualifying as a "nightmare," struggling with understeer and tire warm-up issues. "I don't know, my Q1 lap would have qualified me for Q3, so I don't know how we can go backwards from that," he said. "Tons of understeer in high speed, tyres not ready for Turn 1, just a nightmare. I think we were very consistent on tyre warm-up, we nailed the traffic, so it's deeper than this. We're not far off and we have new tyres left at least, so that's a positive."
Lawson's journey this season has been marked by ups and downs. After being called up to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull following the 2024 season, his initial stint alongside Verstappen was challenging. Red Bull promoted Yuki Tsunoda to replace him from Round 3, but Tsunoda has struggled to make a significant impact, scoring just seven points while Verstappen continues his pursuit of a fifth consecutive Drivers’ Championship.
Verstappen's hopes took a potential blow at the Austrian GP qualifying when yellow flags caused by Pierre Gasly's spin forced him to abort his final Q3 lap, costing him a chance at a front-row start. Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner praised Verstappen for his quick reaction to the yellow flags, noting, "He could see the yellow, so of course, he's done the right thing. He's reacted to the flag. It takes precedent to the dash. It was a great shame. On the predicted time at that corner, he would have done a time that might have squeezed him on the front row. Certainly would have been third." Verstappen also remains one penalty point away from a race ban, though two points will drop off after Austria, reducing his tally from 11 to nine.
As the championship battle intensifies, Lawson's performance adds an intriguing subplot to the season. With Verstappen linked to a potential move to Mercedes and the future line-ups of Red Bull and Racing Bulls uncertain, Lawson is keen to establish himself as the top contender at Racing Bulls and possibly secure a return to the senior Red Bull team in 2026. His qualifying success in Austria is a significant step in that direction.
For now, the spotlight is on Sunday's race, where Lawson will look to convert his qualifying pace into valuable points, while Verstappen aims to recover from his qualifying setback. The Austrian Grand Prix promises to be a thrilling chapter in the 2025 Formula 1 season, with emerging talents and established stars battling it out on the iconic Red Bull Ring.
