Liam Lawson turns Hungary stress into P8

Liam Lawson said a stressful spell as a lapped car in Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton’s battle, followed by an unexpected strategy switch, shaped his eighth-place finish at the Hungarian Grand Prix and underlined his strong 2026 form with Racing Bulls.

Lawson found himself caught in one of the race’s key moments when Hamilton’s opening-stop undercut briefly moved the Ferrari ahead of Verstappen. After Hamilton rejoined, he had to clear Lawson, with Verstappen closing rapidly behind. Once both cars had passed on the home straight, Verstappen attacked into Turn 1 to reclaim third.

Lawson said his priority was simply not to affect the fight. “I just had to make sure I didn’t get in the way and stayed out of it as much as possible,” he said. “Because I was lapped, I didn’t necessarily have to yield right away, but I didn’t think Verstappen would go for it there.” He said the move cost him some time in the aftermath and made the moment “a little stressful,” before adding that it was “a really great overtake.”

His own race was also complicated by a change of plan on the pit wall. Racing Bulls had not intended to run a two-stop strategy from the start, but called Lawson in after what he sensed were developments unfolding behind him. He said the final stint on soft tires was long, but the call paid off. “We hadn’t planned a two-stop from the start, so that was a surprise,” Lawson said. “The last stint was a long one on the soft tires, but in the end it was a great call.”

The result continued a season that has become a reset for Lawson after last year’s Red Bull demotion. With a full pre-season at Racing Bulls, he has scored points in eight of 11 races so far and taken two top-six finishes, turning early uncertainty into consistent returns for the team.

Eighth in Hungary moved Lawson to 43 points at the halfway point of the season. It also made him the best-finishing driver in Budapest from outside Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull Racing, another sign that his place at Racing Bulls is now being defined by results rather than the instability that came before it.