Red Bull's Lawson swap at Dutch GP exposes sister-team advantage, says Schiff

Liam Lawson replaced the injured Isack Hadjar at the Dutch Grand Prix after Hadjar fractured his wrist ahead of the Zandvoort weekend, with Red Bull calling on their sister team Racing Bulls to fill the seat alongside Max Verstappen. Lawson finished seventh, scoring six points, while reserve driver Yuki Tsunoda stepped into the Racing Bulls car alongside rookie Arvid Lindblad.

The reshuffle has reignited debate about the structural advantage Red Bull holds through its dual-team ownership. Former W Series driver and motorsport analyst Naomi Schiff, speaking on the Up To Speed podcast alongside former F1 driver David Coulthard, argued that being able to promote a driver already race-sharp in 2026-specification machinery is a meaningful edge over rivals forced to rely on reserve drivers with far less recent seat time.

“It seems to be a little bit of an advantage to be able to put someone in who’s already currently driving these cars,” Schiff said. “I guess Ferrari is the only other team that would probably call on Oliver Bearman. Whereas Mercedes have Fred Vesti, who travels with them to most of the races, so it would most likely be him.”

Coulthard had framed the situation as evidence of “strength and depth” within the Red Bull programme, and Schiff largely agreed — while acknowledging the personal challenge Lawson faced returning to a seat he had previously lost.

“I do think it works out to be an advantage for Liam, but I think that doesn’t take away from the fact that that was probably a daunting environment for him to step back into, although it does look very different than what it was, what he left behind,” she added.

Whether Hadjar will be fit to return for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza has not yet been confirmed.