Liam Lawson considers stability that recently appointed Racing Bulls boss Alan Permane shows that continuing to do things in a similar way to his predecessor, Laurent Mekies, could be key to keeping his form.
Palmer was promoted to Racing Bulls team principal last month after Makis moved to Red Bull to replace Christian Horner. This is the first time Permane has served as a team principal, but the opening of the two rounds under his leadership marked a top eight finish in both Belgium and Hungary.
“The team needs stability and whenever there’s no stability, it’s a very difficult work environment,” Lawson told racers. “It’s difficult for drivers to work on the side of the garage. It’s a lot of people and it’s a lot of moving parts of the Formula 1 team, so it’s very important that everyone works collectively.
“It’s probably a target for Alan to come into Laurent’s position and something he accomplished very well (with Spafranco Champ and Hungary Ring) and apparently it looks like he’ll continue right now.”
Permane comes after joining the Racing Bulls as the Racing Bulls in early 2024, spending his entire Formula 1 career (and most recently as Alpine’s sports director). Lawson sees similarities to the experiences that both Permae and Mekies have in F1, and believes their close working relationships will also help them with the transition.
“Because of either position, Alan’s position has been working with Laurent in the main position on the engineering side for the past few years, and they both have engineering backgrounds.
“And honestly, as Alan works with Laurent, he has seen exactly how he works, and to be honest, it hasn’t changed much.
“It’s working so well that not only does Laurent have fewer, but I’m not just seeing him wearing a different kit. That’s the only big difference for now.”