Liam Lawson insists Racing Bulls need to be "brave enough" to tackle qualifying issue

Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson believes the team must reassess its qualifying approach after a forgettable weekend at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix. The team's hesitation to adopt Pirelli's C5 tires resulted in both drivers failing to finish inside the points in Montreal.

After Pirelli introduced a new soft C6 compound at Imola earlier this season, the expectation was that teams would naturally switch to it during qualifying for optimal grip. However, the compound has shown limited advantage over the now-reclassified C5, which was last season's soft tire. This overlap led some teams to stick with the C5 even when C6 was available.

Notable among them was George Russell at Mercedes, who took pole in Canada using the C5 in Q3, while others like Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso benefited with it at Imola. In contrast, Racing Bulls have played it safe. Speaking to the media, Lawson voiced his frustrations about the team's tire choices in qualifying, which he feels have contributed to a string of underwhelming performances.

"It's just not that different, honestly, it is not much of a step from the C5. In some ways, you're expecting a compound change, a shift, and it is not that big. We have not been brave enough to do what some teams do and run the C5 in qualifying," Lawson said (via RacingNews365).

Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar attend the Monaco Grand Prix previews. Source: Getty

In Canada, softs (C5) were mandated for Q3, but teams like Mercedes gained by extracting more out of the medium compound (C4) or using C5 in Q1 and Q2 to secure track position. Racing Bulls, however, stuck with the default route, which did little to help Liam Lawson, who exited in Q1, and Hadjar, whose Q3 lap was undone by a grid penalty for impeding Carlos Sainz.

Reflecting on Imola, where the C6 was first used, Lawson added:

"It has worked for some teams, but for us, we actually felt pretty comfortable on the C6, especially in Monaco. It is just not that different from the other steps between compounds."

Lawson's comments hint at how minimal the perceived performance gap is between the two softest tires, raising questions about whether Formula 1 teams should be more experimental based on their cars' behavior.

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Racing Bulls stumbled in Canada as Liam Lawson retired

Liam Lawson (30) during the Formula 1 Pirelli Grand Prix Du Canada in Montreal, Canada- Source: Getty

The Canadian GP marked another low point in a difficult return campaign for Liam Lawson. Having started the season alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull, he was dropped after the Australian and Chinese rounds due to bad results and replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. Since rejoining Racing Bulls in Japan, Lawson hasn't delivered points. His P8 in Monaco remains his only top-10 finish in 2025.

In Montreal, the Racing Bulls' weekend began brightly, with Hadjar and Lawson finishing sixth and eighth in FP1. But qualifying brought disappointment as Lawson couldn't escape Q1, and Hadjar was penalized after advancing to Q3. Lawson, who started the race from the pit lane after a Power Unit change, was ultimately forced to retire on Lap 56 with a cooling system concern.

"It was always going to be a difficult race starting from the pit lane, but we took the decision to install a new PU after a tough Quali yesterday. A cooling issue towards the end of today's race meant we unfortunately had to retire, which is a shame given the pace of the car this weekend was good. We'll keep working on the speed and I'll keep working on myself to reset ahead of Austria," Lawson said post-race via F1.

Meanwhile, Hadjar finished outside the points in P16. Nevertheless, he continues to outperform his experienced teammate. The French-Algerian driver has five top-ten finishes and sits tenth in the Drivers' Standings with 21 points.

Liam Lawson, in contrast, is 18th with just four points to his name, and remains in danger of losing his seat, as F1 heads to the Austrian Grand Prix on June 27.