Poor Red Bull comeback could have ended Liam Lawson's F1 career, says former F1 TV pundit

Will Buxton believes Liam Lawson’s strong Dutch Grand Prix return to Red Bull may have saved his Formula 1 career

Formula 1 broadcaster Will Buxton has argued that Liam Lawson's career in the championship would likely have ended had he underperformed during his return to Red Bull at the Dutch Grand Prix.

Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar was forced to sit out the race weekend at Zandvoort after sustaining a wrist injury during the summer break. As a result, Racing Bulls driver Lawson stepped up to the seat alongside four-time champion Max Verstappen, while reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda filled Lawson's seat at the sister team.

Lawson had a lot to prove on his return to the Milton Keynes outfit, having been dropped by the team after just two race weekends in 2025.

Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast, Buxton discussed the immense pressure on the New Zealander.

"I don't think you can underestimate or undervalue the pressure that would have been on him, that he would have been putting on himself to step back into a team where he had turned up and tried everything but had been fired after two races," Buxton explained.

Liam Lawson, Red Bull

Photo by: Eric Le Galliot

"If he turned up there and qualified at the back of the grid and was nowhere all weekend, that's pretty much career done."

Lawson qualified eighth, one place behind Verstappen, and finished the grand prix seventh after the Dutchman crashed on the opening lap.

"So to turn up and drive the way that he did, to race the way that he did, qualify the way that he did, I was really happy for him," he continued. "His radio message after the race was very sweet and there was a lot of honesty in that.

"It was a weekend of catharsis to put all that horrible experience behind him and move on and show the world and show Red Bull, 'Look at what you could have had.' It was nice."