Liam Lawson did his job at Zandvoort, got showered with praise from people who matter at Red Bull, and was rewarded with… a tyre test at Mugello. Welcome to the glamorous life of Formula 1’s most reliable stand-in.
Days after deputising for an injured Isack Hadjar at the Dutch Grand Prix and finishing seventh, Lawson was back in an RB22, this time logging laps for Pirelli rather than points for the championship. It is not exactly a hero’s welcome, but then Red Bull has never been a team that does sentiment.
From Zandvoort Hero to Tyre Data Machine
Lawson spent the first day of Pirelli’s 2027 tyre test at Mugello focusing on the C2 compound, one of three hardest tyres in next year’s range. He covered 116 laps, roughly 608km, which works out to almost two race distances of the circuit that once hosted the Tuscan Grand Prix. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was alongside him, running all three compounds across 93 laps for Pirelli’s benefit.
It is unglamorous, unpaid-in-headlines work, but somebody has to do it, and Pirelli needs it done before it locks in compounds for a season that is still more than a year away. The Italian manufacturer, sole tyre supplier since 2011, has already extended its deal into 2027, so this is not exactly last-minute panic. It is just the kind of graft that never makes a highlights reel.
The Praise That Came With No Contract Attached
What makes Lawson’s Mugello outing feel almost cruel is the timing. Just days earlier, he had been the subject of glowing tributes from people inside Red Bull who know exactly what a demotion looks like, because they watched him go through one in 2025.
“He seems to have just taken everything really calmly under his wing, and he’s had a solid weekend.” – Calum Nicholas
Nicholas, a Red Bull ambassador and former mechanic, made those comments on the Talking Bull podcast, as reported by Motorsport.com. He went further, pointing out just how loaded the situation was for a driver who had been unceremoniously shipped back to Racing Bulls after only two races in the senior seat.
“With all the noise about it and obviously what he’d been through before in the car. So to be able to make that hop really quickly at the last minute and do a solid job. Absolutely brilliant for him. I’m really happy for his weekend and for him.” – Calum Nicholas
Team principal Laurent Mekies was similarly complimentary, noting Lawson had been just a tenth off Max Verstappen in qualifying before converting that pace into seventh place on race day. Fine words. They will not be printed on a new Red Bull contract any time soon.
Back to the Waiting Room
Hadjar is expected to be fit to reclaim his seat in time for the Italian Grand Prix, which means Lawson’s stint as a temporary Red Bull driver is already winding down before it really got going. He handed the RB22 over to Racing Bulls reserve Ayumu Iwasa on the second day at Mugello, while Lando Norris and Nico Hulkenberg took their turns for McLaren and Audi respectively. Lawson, by all accounts, remains on standby in case Hadjar’s wrist has not healed properly, which is a polite way of saying he is still just insurance.
It is worth remembering how brutal his 2025 demotion actually was. Lawson replaced Sergio Perez at Red Bull only to be dumped back to Racing Bulls after two races, a decision that still looks needlessly harsh given how competently he has performed whenever recalled. Red Bull’s driver market machinations rarely make sense to outsiders, and Lawson’s career arc is Exhibit A.
The Junior Queue Just Got Longer
While Lawson logs laps in Tuscany, Red Bull’s junior pipeline keeps producing new candidates who will eventually want a shot too. Bulgarian junior Nikola Tsolov, who leads the Formula 2 standings by 20 points over Gabriele Mini, has now completed his first official Formula 1 mileage in a TPC test for Racing Bulls at Imola. It is an early step, nothing more, but Red Bull’s junior conveyor belt does not stop producing talent just because the senior seats are occupied.
That queue includes Arvid Lindblad, whose harsh Dutch GP penalty has already sparked debate about how the next generation is being treated, and it now stretches to include Tsolov knocking increasingly loudly on the door.
The Cynical Verdict
Lawson did everything asked of him at Zandvoort, earned genuine praise from people whose opinions actually carry weight inside Red Bull, and the reward was a tyre test. That is not an insult, exactly, it is simply how this team operates: prove yourself, then get filed away for future reference. Whether that reference ever turns into a proper seat again is anyone’s guess, and Red Bull has shown before it is not afraid to make a driver wait, and wait, and wait some more.
