Liam Lawson ‘excited’ to make his VCARB return at F1 Japanese Grand Prix

VCARB welcomes back Liam Lawson at this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix

After just two races with Red Bull, Liam Lawson is making his return to Visa Cash App Racing Bulls at the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix.

In the team’s media preview, Lawson called the weekend a “big opportunity” as he looks to bounce back after a difficult start to the season.

“I’m really looking forward to be racing in Japan this weekend. Suzuka is one of my favorite tracks on the calendar,” said Lawson. “It’s cool to drive and very high speed, which makes it great fun in a Formula One car. This weekend is a big opportunity for me as I rejoin Visa Cash App Racing Bulls, and I’m very excited to work with this team again. As always, I’ll be giving it everything I have.“

Lawson was tapped to replace Sergio Pérez alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull for the 2025 F1 season, but finished outside the points in all three contested races this season: The Australian Grand Prix, the F1 Sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix, and the Chinese Grand Prix itself. After days of speculation, Red Bull confirmed last week that Lawson would be demoted to VCARB, and Yuki Tsunoda would take his place alongside Verstappen.

Lawson’s new teammate, Isack Hadjar, believes the team can fight for points in Suzuka.

“I’m really excited to be in Japan, which is probably my favorite country to visit on the calendar. I have already driven at Suzuka, and even if it was a while ago, it is still my favourite track along with Monaco,” said Hadjar. “I think driving here for the first time in a Formula One car, it is going to feel ridiculously fast. I am keen to see what we can achieve as a team because, in the first two race weekends we seemed to have a lot of pace, so the plan is to replicate that again and fight for more points.”

Racing Director Alan Permane called the Japanese Grand Prix one of the “ultimate challenges” the sport has to offer.

“Suzuka is one of the ultimate challenges for car, driver and [tires],

began Permane. “It has almost every type of corner that we encounter over a season, all in one lap. From very high speed, to long sweeping medium speed, fast changes of direction, heavy braking and a tight chicane with kerbs to ride.

“Pirelli will bring the hardest [tires] in their 2025 range for this weekend and these work well on this high energy track. Around 50% of the track has been resurfaced since we last visited and the impact of this on grip and [tire] behavior will be one of the items on our list to test during Friday running.

Permane believes that the team’s challenger has “worked well” so far this season, but with the midfield competition tight VCARB will need to be at their best to bring home points this weekend.

“The VCARB 02 has worked well at the previous two tracks, but the midfield is tight, and we will need to work hard to deliver the best qualifying result and even harder to convert this on Sunday,” added Permane. “We welcome Liam back to the team at a track he knows well from his season in Super Formula in 2023 and look forward to him and Isack working together to extract the maximum performance from the car here, and for the rest of the season.”