Racing Bulls team principal Alan Permane has revealed Liam Lawson was “not the same guy” after his demotion from Red Bull earlier this season, while Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has admitted the team is receiving interest from other drivers amid uncertainty over Max Verstappen’s future.
Lawson endured a difficult start to the 2026 campaign after being promoted to Red Bull before losing his seat after just two races.
He returned to Racing Bulls, where he has since rediscovered his form.
‘He wasn’t the same guy’
Speaking on the latest episode of Beyond The Grid, Permane admitted the New Zealander was visibly affected when he rejoined the team.
“He didn’t really say much about it to start with, honestly, his head was down and he won’t thank me for saying this, because I think at the time, he was, ‘no, everything’s fine’, but you could tell.
“We obviously knew him from the year before, we could tell he certainly wasn’t the same guy, and I don’t want to say we rebuilt him because that’s a little bit dramatic, but we just supported and helped him where we could.
“He works incredibly hard and he works incredibly well with his engineering team, and he did it.”
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Permane praises Lawson’s response
Permane praised Lawson’s response, insisting the 24-year-old earned his improvement through hard work both on and off the track.
“We’re there to help him, but he made a turnaround. He worked hard in the simulator, he worked hard off track and on track, and I think we saw that culminating with some really, really good performances.”
The Racing Bulls boss also explained that he encouraged Lawson to ignore everything outside of racing after the team confirmed him for the 2026 season.
“You can see that with him this year, he’s definitely done that. He’s laser-focused, it’s a bit of a cliché, but he is and I’m really pleased that you can see that in his driving.
“He’s much more aware of the car, I think he works better and closer with his engineers, he knows what he wants from the car, he’s able to drive it in a way to get the best out of the car.”
Mekies addresses Verstappen speculation
Meanwhile, Mekies addressed the ongoing speculation surrounding Verstappen’s future, acknowledging that Red Bull are also attracting enquiries from other drivers.
“Look, it is working in both directions – it is completely natural that Max gets a call from everyone, because he is the best driver in the world.
“And equally if you are a top team, you are going to get calls from many of these good drivers around as well. So that’s natural. Is it a distraction for us? Not really.
“Our full focus is on getting that car as fast as it can [be] and then you will keep your best driver in the world,” Mekies explained.
“And we also see the massive growth of Isack [Hadjar] alongside Max, and that for us is the ideal pairing and we try to make sure we can keep that pairing.”
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