Kiwi Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson says his confidence "hasn't changed" despite a turbulent first half to his 2025 season.
In an interview with Formula1.com, the 23-year-old opened up about the emotional highs and lows of his brief stint alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing.
Lawson was promoted to the senior team after a string of impressive performances at AlphaTauri/Racing Bulls - but was dropped after just two races.
The Kiwi returned to the Red Bull stable's junior team and has since worked hard to settle into a rhythm and cement his place on the F1 grid.
"It’s a bit weird to have a second to reflect,” Lawson said during the three-week break between the British and Belgian Grand Prix.
"It’s been a very busy couple of months with six weeks and five race weekends. To have a bit of time… it’s important to think about how everything’s been.
“Obviously the start of the year, [we had] the big shake-up with the team switch, and then not really having the time to get to grips with things, racing every weekend, and trying to be at the level that I need to be at. It’s been a lot.”
Lawson made it clear that despite the disappointment of not being afforded more time at Red Bull, he never lost the belief in his racing abilities.
“It’s been very heavily speculated that my confidence took a hit and stuff like this, which is completely false. From the start of the year, I felt the same as I always have.
“I think in two races, on tracks I’d never been to, it’s not really enough for my confidence… maybe six months into a season, if I’m still at that level, if the results are still like that, then I’d be feeling something – maybe my confidence would be taking a hit.
“I haven’t really talked much about it, because I think for a big part of this year, I’ve just ignored everything that happened, and I’ve just focused on trying to drive the car – but I know there was a lot of stuff that went out that was speculation about how I was feeling.
“My confidence hasn’t changed since the start of the year to now.” Lawson said.
Since returning to junior team Racing Bulls, Lawson has managed two-points scoring finishes, including an impressive career best 6th place in Austria.
However, Lawson is still without a confirmed race seat for 2026 and currently sits 16th in the World Driver's Championship standings. It has been widely speculated he will retain a place for next season, however.
The Kiwi says his mindset is currently focused on each race as it comes, and not about where his F1 career might be in a year's time.
“You almost get lost in this world," Lawson admitted.
"You’re forced to basically come out of a race weekend, have a day to think about what just happened, and then you’re straight away thinking about the next race. I don’t know if it’s healthy or not healthy, but you just think about F1, the performance and the result.
"It does make a difference when you go into those little breaks, summer break and end of season, where you switch off. I find those moments quite weird."
Heading into the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend, Lawson will look to further build on his confidence and maintain his current strong form.
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