Racing Bulls Chief Hypes Liam Lawson: ‘Genius Beyond Words’
Formula 1 is brutal. It chews up talent and spits it out before most drivers even get a chance to adjust their mirrors. But sometimes, just sometimes, you see a flash of something special, a spark that suggests a driver isn’t just surviving, but actually figuring out the puzzle in real-time. That’s exactly what Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane is seeing in Liam Lawson.
It hasn’t been a smooth ride for the Kiwi. His introduction to the sport was fragmented, thrown into the deep end at the 2024 Dutch Grand Prix, then left to wait in the wings. But now, with a full seat secured for 2026 alongside rookie Arvid Lindblad, the narrative is shifting.
Why Permane Sees “Genius” in Lawson
Let’s be real: Isack Hadjar grabbed a lot of the spotlight during his rookie season. He was fast, flashy, and exciting. But while Hadjar was stealing headlines, Lawson was quietly doing the heavy lifting in the background. It was a subtle shift, one that might have been missed if you were only watching the championship battle at the front, but the data doesn’t lie.
After a rocky start to the year where his stock seemed to bounce up and down like a yo-yo, Lawson put his head down. Following the Chinese Grand Prix, he went to work. Permane, who has been around the block enough times to know real talent when he sees it, didn’t mince words. “I really see some genius in there,” he told reporters.
It’s a bold claim, but it’s backed by what the team saw in the data. Permane pointed to specific moments in Austria, Budapest, and the standout qualifying and race in Baku. These weren’t just good days at the office; they were moments where everything clicked. The challenge now? Bottling that lightning and using it for a whole season.
The Turning Point in Austria
The car swap mid-season was no small feat. Lawson had spent his off-season prepping in a Red Bull machine that, while potentially faster, had a completely different operating window than the VCARB02 he ended up racing. He didn’t get the luxury of testing; he had to learn on the fly at Suzuka, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. It took a minute. But then came Austria.
According to Permane, this was the “lightbulb” moment. Lawson and his engineer spent hours in the simulator, messing with suspension and steering geometries. They weren’t just driving; they were engineering a solution to a feeling Lawson wasn’t happy with. They found a setup that worked in Monaco and carried it over to the Red Bull Ring.
Suddenly, the car made sense to him. For the first time in the 2025 season, he beat his teammate. He finished sixth. Then came eighth-place finishes in Belgium and Hungary, again beating Hadjar. By the time Baku rolled around, he was finishing fifth.
This wasn’t luck. This was a driver taking control of his machinery. “That was a turning point,” Permane admitted. “It was something that we did to the car, but at his direction… It made him much more comfortable.”
Looking Ahead to 2026
Red Bull had a tough call to make. Hadjar was always likely to get the call-up to the big team, but Lawson’s resurgence complicated things in the best way possible. Early in the year, retaining Yuki Tsunoda over Lawson might have been a no-brainer. By the end? Lawson made himself indispensable.
Permane highlights Lawson’s ability to deliver when conditions are tricky—low downforce, damp tracks like Vegas, or the slippery streets of Baku. “Liam’s nailed it both times,” he said. Sure, there are areas to improve. There always are. But the raw ingredients, the speed, the technical feedback, and the ability to adapt are all there.
As Lawson gears up for 2026 with a full season ahead of him and the confidence of his team boss, he’s no longer just fighting for a seat. He’s fighting to prove that the “genius” Permane sees is here to stay. For F1 fans, that’s a prospect worth watching.
