Lawson Logs More Laps for Red Bull at Mugello as Hadjar's Monza Return Hangs in the Balance

Just days after his surprise Dutch Grand Prix comeback, Liam Lawson found himself back in a Red Bull car again — this time on tyre-testing duty rather than race weekend pressure.

Lawson joined McLaren's Oscar Piastri for the opening day of a two-day Pirelli tyre test at Italy's Mugello Circuit on Wednesday, with both drivers focused on evaluating the three hardest compounds in Pirelli's range as the tyre manufacturer builds toward its 2027 development program. The New Zealander logged serious mileage, completing 116 laps and 608 kilometers — considerably more than Piastri's 93 laps — with most of his running concentrated on the C2 compound.

Lawson's pace wasn't the focus of the exercise; comparative tyre data was. Still, his best lap came in at 1m22.297s, a respectable time given that outright speed wasn't what Pirelli was after. He started with repeated eight-lap stints before stretching his runs longer as the afternoon evaluation progressed.

The appearance carries a slightly unusual context. Lawson only just returned to a Red Bull cockpit days earlier, called up at short notice for the Dutch Grand Prix after regular driver Isack Hadjar was ruled out with a wrist injury sustained during F1's summer break. That Zandvoort weekend went well for Lawson — he qualified eighth and finished seventh, marking his first points as a Red Bull driver since a brief, difficult two-race stint with the team back in early 2025.

Whether Lawson stays in the seat for Monza remains genuinely unclear. Red Bull has said it's hopeful Hadjar will be fit to return for next weekend's Italian Grand Prix, but as of Wednesday's test, there's been no formal confirmation either way on whether the Frenchman will be race-ready or whether Lawson continues as his stand-in for a second consecutive weekend.

Testing at Mugello continues Thursday, with a driver swap on both sides of the garage — Lando Norris takes over McLaren duties from Piastri, while Ayumu Iwasa steps in for Red Bull in place of Lawson.

For Lawson, regardless of how Monza shakes out, the Mugello outing at least keeps him sharp and visible at exactly the moment his F1 future is drawing fresh attention — a driver making the most of an opportunity nobody expected him to get twice.

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