The Part of My Red Bull Story Nobody Knows | Liam Lawson
Video Overview & Insights
#liamlawson #f1 #redbull #f1racing #highperformance
Really interested to hear what you all make of this one.
Liam spoke so openly about everything that happened at Red Bull, but also about the pressure, sacrifice and resilience behind the scenes.
Curious to know — did this conversation change how you see him? ⬇
Racing Bulls Formula 1 driver Liam Lawson joins High Performance for an honest and deeply revealing conversation about the toughest period of his Formula One career. After losing his Red Bull seat after just two races, Liam opens up about the phone call he never saw coming, why he tried to pretend the experience “never happened,” and the public narrative around his mental state that he says “could not be further” from the truth.
He reflects on the lack of preparation before his Red Bull debut, the radical setup gamble in China, and why he refuses to accept being judged on two races at tracks he had never driven before. Liam also discusses the emotional impact of online abuse, why he muted every F1 account, and how Max Verstappen privately supported him during one of the hardest moments of his life.
The part about things being a "blessing in disguise" that appear bad luck at first is so fascinating, because I can 100% see a scenario where he stays at RB for that whole season, probably underperforms (not necessarily by his own fault) and he loses his F1 seat for 2026 at both RB and VCARB. I'm glad that he's being able to show what a great driver he really is, and how those 2 races in RB are not at all representative of his capabilites.
Beyond Red Bull, this is a powerful conversation about resilience, trust, family sacrifice, and the real cost of chasing a childhood dream. Liam shares how his parents shaped his mindset, the pressure of representing New Zealand, the role music plays in helping him switch off, and why Formula One may come at the cost of happiness.
This is a raw insight into the human being behind the helmet, and what it really takes to rebuild when the world has already written your story.
I think after you build such huge amount of inter personal trust with interviewees to be able to ask them questions that leads to this kind of vulnerability & intimacy; then you also owe it to that individual to "leave them better" than what you found them. I appreciate your personal views, which I summarize as realistically empathetic. Do you guys do "exit interviews" after the recording stops?
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00:00 Liam Lawson on the Red Bull call he never saw coming
I truly enjoyed the way you two hosted this interview. Often interviewers ruin interviews for me by doing it poorly, but this was a masterclass.
00:38 Trying to forget what happened at Red Bull
01:18 Why Liam felt unprepared after joining Red Bull
So proud of our kiwi driver. Big love Liam!
03:41 The radical China setup gamble
05:18 Losing his dream Red Bull seat after two races
Having followed Formula 1 since the 1990s, I was particularly enthusiastic to witness a New Zealander not only join the grid but also secure a position with one of the top-tier teams. This outcome exceeded my initial expectations.
Given the inherently political nature of Formula 1, the media and sport's portrayal of Liam was both frustrating and, unfortunately, predictable. There was a notable absence of discussion regarding his disrupted preseason preparations, his interrupted free practice sessions in Melbourne, and his lack of prior racing experience at Albert Park. Similar challenges were encountered in China. Despite these circumstances, critics swiftly concluded, based on these two races, that he was not performing adequately. It appears Honda played a role in his replacement by Tsunoda. While Yuki's subsequent Grand Prix performances did not show significant improvement, the media and fan base exhibited considerably more leniency regarding his inability to achieve results. Yuki remained in the car for the rest of the season, only to be subsequently removed from the Red Bull program entirely for 2026. This decision clearly reflects the team's true assessment of his capabilities and the rationale behind Liam's replacement.
The decision to replace a young driver after only two Grand Prix, particularly at circuits where they have no prior experience and in a car with which they have had limited track time, is undeniably harsh. However, this situation is emblematic of the realities within Formula 1.
I am thoroughly impressed by Liam's resilience in overcoming what must have been an intensely challenging experience, particularly this past year, by allowing his driving performance to speak for itself. His achievements ever since are too much 🖤🖤🇳🇿🇳🇿🖤🖤
09:00 Rebuilding after the hardest moment of his career
12:39 The narrative Liam says was completely wrong
such a comprehesive and empathetic podcast. almost felt like a therapy session lol but that's how good and introspective the questions were. I love how the interviewers were intently listening. Liam surprised me with his thoughtful answers.
14:09 Online abuse, muting F1 and handling public opinion
24:54 Why Liam is now grateful for the Red Bull experience
This feels like a therapy session for Liam.
31:10 The childhood dream and family sacrifice behind F1
52:43 Max Verstappen’s private support and what makes him different
Too arrogant by half, and for no good reason. He won't last in F1
1:04:32 The real cost of chasing Formula One
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I like the podcasts but feel like it turns too much into a session with a shrink. Appreciate we want to understand their mindsets but repeatedly revisiting the same questions of “where does that come from” becomes a bit draining.
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What an amazing person you are Liam.
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New found respect for Liam, hope he finds happiness
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Great interview .Honest and humble yet vulnerable. Hope he achieves all his goals. Top man.
More User Perspectives
He's young and talented, resilient and focussed I'd like to think Liam has plenty of time in his career to rise up again. Kia Kaha Kiwi!!! 😎🤙
@ToddAdtlerPoor little thing! Others people's comments to him are bad... make him sad... like if he didn't comment on other drivers himself!!
@nixxilkI WAS RIGHT! EVERY ONE WAS WRONG regarding Liam in Red Bull last year!
@PulkaSkurkenI just found this podcast, it blew my mind.. seeing a person like Liam open up about all, from childhood to now was amazing.. he such a likable young man.. Thank you for sharing Liam.❤
@DrFingerI am slowly becoming more and more of a fan of him. Totally agree with him about shitting on kids dreams; a lot of people think they are doing kids a favour by telling sooner rather than later thinking “oh better save them from the heartbreak now”, that’s not what you’re doing at all, all you’re doing is shitting on a child’s dream and killing their hope and ambition-stop doing that, don’t do that.
@williamheinbuchI'm just knocked out by how self-reflective Liam is. I've followed F1 since forever (the 1960's), but this current era has so much in addition to driving expected from the drivers. Netflix certainly didn't help him as their portrayal of him was more focused on the drama rather than the person. Social media just opens the floodgates holding back the 7th Circle of Hell as far as the things people spew at or about him (or any other driver). His greatest accomplishment may be that he is able to maintain his perspective through all of this. I had the Nico Rosberg interview in my head as a sort of high water mark for this sort of interview. That bar is now much higher after this one!
@johnlorrieboskovic2836A wise head on young shoulders.
@sanyamjain1989How are you still promoting AG1? The must bs supplement, an absolute scam. Not coincidentally owned by a guy from NZ who fled the country after being prosecuted for scamming old folk out of their pension money via real estate deals!
@elwinvanwees8516RB owes Oceania reparations
@floof_hair3857Guys I very much appreciated the last third of this video. As much as we all admire and I think can learn from these elite athletes and "winners" I loved the pivot to looking at what is real in life. It isn't winning, finding peace and joy in our relationships and life is all that matters. ❤
@joshethertonYou are doing so well Liam!! NZ are super proud of you!!
@ChereefeneLooserson: no amount of video stories will change the fact that you have no talent no skill and you are a looser
@NikolasPhoenx-s1lWhat a great interview! Bigup Liam.
@mark7dnbi firmly believe that the only reason redbull dropped him was that they realized in China that they couldn't improve the car. So they just took the bag that Honda was offering to put Yuki in the seat who still couldn't drive that car.
If Suzuka was the 4th race Liam would have gotten 3, if Suzuka was fifth Liam would have had 4 races.
38:44 was it angus fogg? Sounds like some he'd tell a kid
@Slipknt4536.12 what a stupid question. It came from the fact that good, bad or indifferent thats what he wanted to do and he was glad to be doing it. I think is true of anyone you ask that question too. What a plonker. Less of him more of the other guy please
@Slipknt45Thank you Liam Lawson. Proud of you and proud to be a fellow Kiwi. Win or lose we are behind you.
@nickydelautour7237Red bull bosses back in 2025 were just heartless.(@horner &helmut). A phone call!! Really!! Not the best way a supposed top tier team demotes an employee. McLaren needs to snap him up, be good to have a kiwi racing under a kiwi name
@TimFitzgerald-g9hThey keep changing the thumbnail, how weird and scummy. Lets keep changing the narrative, right guys?
@tealpeen23My god with this guy. In minute 9:30 he says that a lot of guys (drivers) have been badly treated and unfairly. Well dude, that's even on you. Just remember how you talked about how angry made you when you saw drivers underperformed in cars you could drive better, or whe you flipped a finger to a RB driver even when it was a racing team linked to yours. And I could go on an on on times where you acted exaclty the way you feel is unfair. I can respect that you say that you are not here to make friends, but also, not to make enemies. Preach with example and be humble man. That arrogant attitude does no good to no one.
@pablomagallanes4201Great interview. Great human.
@DancingKlazGo Liam! Onward and upward, you've got this and NZ is behind you! Proud of who you are and what you've achieved already and I believe you'll reach higher goals, on and off the track.
@pietervisser7683WOW. That was a interesting interview. I'm a "hobby" race car driver and really enjoy it, it has been relentless on myself and my family the time I'm away from family. But I enjoy getting out in the ar and just driving it.
@Couchboyr32His story is amazing. I am sure his family are happy now, seeing the results of their sacrifice.
@tonyfarrell7646Didn't expect to resonate with Liam so much 🥺
@BellaJamesHe bounced back and that’s what’s important. Great driver!
@PeterPost-w8mI really want to know the full story but it couldnt be told more dull
@tomhatton2512Come on Liam, start showing your performance instead of talking about
@tomassmith3696You should know before the change to Red Bull , your choice criticizes checo even after you know the troubles with the car
You thought you are Superman or something like that , you been known attacking and hitting many drivers in purpose acting like mad man
Here we are now with reality , you pay the price of your ego against the monster created around Max by the team
Why slag off your own team
@ashleymoore9063He just choked. Max had the same team snd car and did fine in those 2 races
@VenomPogi6394why does this podcast have so many ADS ??
@okok-fs9doBrooootherrrr, literally as I am watching this, a notification hit my phone from Instagram with the caption "Is Liam Lawson getting replaced by Nikolai ... so and so..." Myyyyy god mate, can this guy just get a break please. The Media just like to chow into conspiracies
@cornedebruyn2303Awesome dude, best interview so far.
@darrenmay4818Don't stop what you're doing with motorsport lads, an amazing insight and Inspiration for the average guy just trying to do a little better in this life x
@bencroxall4552Good for you Liam - Stay grounded! Appreciate and Love your family! Dont forget to live!
@MrKensh