How Lawson rose to the challenge of driving this year's Red Bull

In a remarkable performance, Liam Lawson secured a seventh-place finish at the Zandvoort Dutch Grand Prix after being called up as a last-minute substitute for Red Bull. Despite having minimal preparation time in the simulator, the New Zealander successfully adapted to the RB22, finishing only a tenth off teammate Max Verstappen in qualifying and navigating a challenging, wet race restart to bring home valuable points for the team. Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies praised Lawson's ability to step into an unfamiliar car under immense pressure, noting that he effectively extracted the maximum available pace. Lawson himself admitted that while the car's power unit was familiar, its handling and balance were vastly different from what he was accustomed to at Racing Bulls. Despite a 10-second penalty, his consistent drive allowed him to comfortably secure points, marking a successful and composed return to the track.