FIA announce Red Bull F1 star penalty verdict at Saudi Grand Prix due to…read more
Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson has received a formal reprimand from the FIA following an incident during Free Practice 1 at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, held at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The 23-year-old New Zealander, currently racing with Red Bull’s sister team, Racing Bulls, was found to have violated race director instructions during the session.
Lawson, who started the 2025 Formula 1 season with the main Red Bull team, was demoted to the junior outfit after just two races. Since then, he has been competing alongside teammate Isack Hadjar, working to rebuild his form and confidence after a rocky start. Yuki Tsunoda has since taken Lawson’s spot in the senior Red Bull team.
Despite not scoring any championship points so far this season, Lawson has shown signs of improvement. However, his weekend in Jeddah was marred by a procedural mistake during practice. According to an official statement by the FIA, Lawson entered the painted area between the pit entry and the track – a zone explicitly prohibited in the race director’s event notes. The FIA noted that Lawson breached this rule not just once, but twice during FP1.
The FIA’s report emphasized that it had been clearly communicated in the event notes that no part of a car’s tyre was permitted to cross the designated line in any direction. Despite this, Lawson was found to have done so on two separate occasions during the practice session.
Interestingly, race control had identified the first infringement and flagged it at 16:48:30. However, the stewards noted that Racing Bulls failed to inform Lawson of the violation despite having three laps in which to do so. During a hearing, the team acknowledged that no warning was given to the driver. Nonetheless, the FIA stated that even without a reminder from the team, it was the driver’s responsibility to be aware of and follow the event notes, which Lawson admitted he had read and understood.
Due to the nature of the infringement—particularly the fact that it was repeated and went against a clearly stated directive—the stewards decided to issue an official reprimand. While it does not carry an immediate sporting penalty, the reprimand will remain on Lawson’s record for the remainder of the 2025 season.
In Formula 1, drivers are allowed to accumulate up to four reprimands in a single season before facing any sporting penalties. However, only reprimands related to driving conduct are counted toward the threshold for punishment. If a driver receives five driving reprimands within the same season, they incur a 10-place grid penalty at the event where the fifth occurs.
This incident marks Lawson’s first reprimand of the 2025 campaign. Though it won’t impact his starting position in Jeddah, he will need to be cautious for the rest of the season to avoid further penalties that could jeopardize his racing prospects.
