Liam Lawson has denied suggestions that Red Bull removed him from the team in 2025 to protect his mental health. The New Zealander described the public narrative around his brief stint as inaccurate. He made the comments during an appearance on the High Performance podcast.
Lawson spent just two races with Red Bull at the start of the 2025 season alongside Max Verstappen before returning to Racing Bulls ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix. He attributed his struggles to limited preparation time and a radical car setup change attempted during the China sprint weekend.
Lawson said the team had agreed to start from the pit lane and make a major adjustment to improve balance. The experiment damaged tyre performance and ended his race. He stated that this result was later used to justify his demotion.
The driver rejected rumours that Red Bull acted to shield him from pressure. He described the portrayal of mental health concerns as entirely false and emphasised that the decision did not reflect his own experience.
