Formula 1’s resident Kiwi Liam Lawson stepped out of the shadows and into the spotlight this weekend, securing his best career finish at the 2025 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
He started third on the grid after clocking in the fastest lap in Q3, nailing the 6km Baku City Circuit in 1m 41.707s. Despite an early pit stop which dropped him back, the 23-year-old held on and rallied in the race, fighting off several contenders for his place in the final laps to finish in fifth.
“P5 after a tough race today, gave it everything! Super proud of the team,” Lawson wrote in a celebratory post on social media.
Lawson has equalled a 50-year record for New Zealand, with his finish in fifth marking the best for a Kiwi in Formula 1 since Chris Amon’s fifth at the 1976 Spanish Grand Prix.
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After congratulating Lawson on his fifth-place finish, his race engineer Ernesto Desiderio described the last ten laps as a “masterclass”.
“Jesus Christ, man,” Lawson replied. “That was really hard.”
The Kiwi then apologised for being unable to keep pace with the drivers ahead of him, while Desiderio apologised for pitting him a lap too late when he was racing Mercedes rookie Kimi Antontelli early on.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took first place to no surprise after a comfortable lead from start to finish, finishing 14s before Mercedes’ George Russell, who was followed by Williams’ Carlos Sainz. Antonelli came in fourth, ahead of Lawson.
Lawson had to fight hard to hold off Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda in the final laps, who crossed the finish line just 0.518s behind him. Their on-track battle was a mirror of their off-track fight for a seat next year.
Tsunoda replaced Lawson at Red Bull alongside Verstappen just two race into the 2025 season, but reports suggest he will be replaced by Lawson’s Racing Bulls teammate Isack Hadjar in 2026.
Junior Red Bull driver Arvid Lindblad is tipped to take Hadjar’s place, leaving one seat in the Racing Bulls team for Tsunoda and Lawson to fight over.
The Kiwi currently sits above Tsunoda in the driver rankings, with 30 points compared to 20.
