Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls’ driver, has urged his team to adopt a more daring qualifying strategy following a disappointing weekend at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix. The team’s cautious approach to tire selection, especially their reluctance to use Pirelli’s C5 compound aggressively, resulted in both Racing Bulls drivers missing the points in Montreal.

Earlier this season, Pirelli introduced a new soft tire, the C6 compound, which was expected to become the qualifying tire of choice due to its superior grip. However, the performance difference between the new C6 and the previous soft C5 has been minimal, prompting some teams to stick with the C5 instead. This divergence in strategy has created a mixed field in terms of tire use during qualifying sessions.

Teams such as Mercedes and Aston Martin have taken more risks with the C5 compound, gaining strong results like George Russell securing pole position in Canada on the C5 and Fernando Alonso benefiting at Imola. Meanwhile, Racing Bulls have maintained a conservative approach, which Lawson believes has held the team back.

“It’s just not that different, honestly, it is not much of a step from the C5. In some ways, you’re expecting a compound change, a shift, and it is not that big. We have not been brave enough to do what some teams do and run the C5 in qualifying,” Lawson said (via RacingNews365).

During the Canadian GP, regulators mandated the use of the C5 tires in Q3. While some teams maximized their position by using different compounds strategically in Q1 and Q2, Racing Bulls restricted themselves to the default tire usage. This conservative play contributed to Lawson’s early exit from Q1 and a compromised qualifying session for Hadjar, who was substantially impacted by a grid penalty for impeding Carlos Sainz.

Lawson reflected on the introduction of the C6 compound at Imola, expressing that Racing Bulls felt comfortable on the new tire and did not notice a significant difference compared to the C5.

“It has worked for some teams, but for us, we actually felt pretty comfortable on the C6, especially in Monaco. It is just not that different from the other steps between compounds.”

These observations highlight a crucial question for Racing Bulls: whether they should embrace more experimental tire strategies aligned with their car’s performance traits to improve qualifying results and overall race competitiveness.

Setbacks for Racing Bulls in Montreal highlight ongoing challenges

The Canadian Grand Prix represented another difficult chapter for Liam Lawson during a tough 2025 season. After starting the year at Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen, Lawson lost his seat following poor outcomes in the Australian and Chinese rounds and was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda. Since returning to Racing Bulls in Japan, Lawson has struggled to score points, with only one top-10 finish—a P8 in Monaco—marking his season so far.

Racing Bulls showed initial promise in Montreal, with Hadjar and Lawson finishing sixth and eighth respectively in the first practice session. However, qualifying proved problematic: Lawson was eliminated in Q1, and Hadjar received a penalty that affected his progress despite reaching Q3.

Lawson started the race from the pit lane after a power unit change and ultimately retired on lap 56 due to a cooling system failure, undermining what had appeared to be a strong pace during the weekend.

“It was always going to be a difficult race starting from the pit lane, but we took the decision to install a new PU after a tough Quali yesterday. A cooling issue towards the end of today’s race meant we unfortunately had to retire, which is a shame given the pace of the car this weekend was good. We’ll keep working on the speed and I’ll keep working on myself to reset ahead of Austria,” Lawson said post-race via F1.

Hadjar finished the race in 16th place, outside the points, yet continues to outperform his more experienced teammate. The French-Algerian driver boasts five top-10 finishes and currently ranks tenth in the Drivers’ Championship with 21 points.

Lawson, by contrast, sits 18th with only four points, placing his position within the team under scrutiny as Formula 1 approaches the Austrian Grand Prix on June 27. The mounting pressure on both driver and team underscores an urgent need for strategic and performance improvements.

The implications of tire strategy decisions for Racing Bulls moving forward

The limited performance difference between Pirelli’s C5 and C6 tires raises critical strategic considerations for Racing Bulls. Lawson’s critique suggests that a more courageous adoption of alternative compounds in qualifying could provide the team with improved track position and scoring opportunities.

With harder competition and ongoing technical challenges, Racing Bulls faces a crucial period to reassess their approaches. Decisions regarding qualifying tactics, tire choices, and power unit reliability will significantly influence the team’s ability to recover form and secure vital points as the 2025 season progresses toward key European races like Austria.