Formula 1: Racing Bulls boss says Kiwi ace Liam Lawson is eliminating his mistakes
Liam Lawson (centre), Alan Permane (left) and Peter Bayer of Racing Bulls. Photo / AFP
By RNZ
Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane believes New Zealand driver Liam Lawson is overcoming one of the issues that plagued his start in Formula One.
Lawson and the rest of the grid have enjoyed some time off following the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Grands Prix, due to the Iran war.
However, preparations for the next race in Miami are ramping up, with Lawson in a good place after picking up points in the last two rounds.
The 24-year-old finished seventh in both the sprint race and the grand prix in Shanghai and was ninth in Japan. He is 10th in the drivers’ championship, just two points behind four-time world champion Dutchman Max Verstappen.
Permane feels Lawson is starting to overcome his inconsistency in qualifying.
The Kiwi made Q3 (the top 10 in qualifying) eight times in 2025, but also failed to make it out of Q1 (the first, full qualifying field) seven times.
“I’ve said it many times and I’ll say again with Liam, I see immense talent there,” Permane told Speedcafe. “Some of his performances last year were outstanding. What he needs to do, and what he is doing so far, is eliminate mistakes.
“We can’t be qualifying third on the grid one weekend and then out in Q1 the following weekend, and he knows that. And he’s working hard to ensure that doesn’t happen.
“And if he doesn’t improve his top level, if he just eliminates the bad level and lifts everything up to what we know he’s capable of, that will already be a fantastic step. And that’s the next thing to build.
“But I’d much rather he works on, not works on the absolute pace, because I think that’s there, it’s working on the consistency, which he’s doing.”
Lawson qualified eighth for the 2026 season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but had a problem with his car during launch and finished 13th. In Shanghai and Japan, he made it into Q2 and went on to grab points.
He has admitted that he is still getting used to the new regulations this year but has generally been happy with the reliability of his car and the race strategy from the team.
While it has been a positive start, Lawson is looking for more.
“Going forward, the goal is to find more performance in the car, and once we do that, we’ll be in a strong position. We’ve been able to score in every race this year, which gives us a good platform to keep building.”
The next race is in Miami on May 3.
– RNZ