Mekies admits Lawson's Red Bull exit was 'not the end he deserved'

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has admitted that Liam Lawson's two-race stint with the team at the start of the 2025 season was 'not the end he deserved,' as the New Zealander returns to the senior squad at Zandvoort.

Why it matters:

The admission revisits one of last year's most controversial driver decisions, when Lawson was dropped after just two rounds and replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. It also highlights Lawson's remarkable rebuild at Racing Bulls, where he established himself as one of F1's strongest midfield runners before earning this second chance.

The Details:

• Lawson went scoreless in Melbourne and Shanghai, struggling with the notoriously difficult RB21.
• It later emerged that Red Bull ran an extremely experimental set-up on his car, particularly in China, which was used as part of the justification for the swap.
• After returning to Racing Bulls, Lawson consistently impressed with both the old and new generation of cars, while Tsunoda lost his seat alongside Max Verstappen at the end of the year.
• Speaking before the Dutch GP, where Lawson replaced the injured Isack Hadjar, Mekies said: 'It was a very difficult first two races last year for him with the team. I'm sure it was not the end that he deserved.'
• Lawson then qualified just a tenth off Verstappen in the RB22 and finished seventh, scoring six points in a standout weekend.

What's next:

Lawson now has a chance to cement his place back at Red Bull, while Tsunoda, who deputised at Racing Bulls and finished 11th, also earned praise from Mekies for his patient simulator work. The coming races will show whether Lawson can make the most of this unexpected opportunity.