Shop
The New Zealander impressed on his return to F1 at the United States Grand Prix, scoring points after starting 19th courtesy of a power unit penalty.
It built on a strong showing during his five-event cameo in place of an injured Daniel Ricciardo last season when he scored points at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Lawson is in contention to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull Racing for next season, with his RB team-mate Yuki Tsunoda thought to be his biggest rival for the promotion.
“Liam’s still a little bit of an unknown to us,” said Permane.
“We had a lovely surprise in Austin when he came in for that first race.
“I think it was a bit of a double-edged sward; we knew he was going to have an engine penalty and did that increase or reduce the pressure on him? Don’t really know.
“His lap in Q1 was third fastest, and then he started in the back and finished in the points, so super good.”
Since then, his performance has been slightly inconsistent in Permane’s eyes.
Strong in the Sao Paulo Grand Prix he then struggled at Las Vegas when RB began the weekend well out of the ideal set-up window.
“We started a long way off in FP1 with the car in Vegas, and got there by the end. But I’m pretty sure that didn’t help him with his relative lack of experience,” Permane reasoned
Even still, in the five races in which he’s worked with Lawson – Permane joined RB at the start of the year – he’s been impressed with what he’s seen.
“I think Liam is the real deal,” said the man who worked with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso.
“We come to a track now that he knows, we’re going to expect him to have a solid weekend here.”
A veteran of the F1 grid, having spent decades at Enstone before leaving Alpine midway through last season, Permane also spoke positively about Tsunoda.
“He’s super quick,” he declared.
“He’s able to get the most out of the car, generally, all of the time, especially over a single lap; qualifying pace has been very good.
“I was also surprised by his feedback. His English is excellent.”
However, Permane highlighted Tsunoda’s tendency to vent his frustration, especially over team radio, as an area he needs to improve.
“That is an area, if you talk about weaknesses, I think that is a weakness of his,” he reasoned.
“He knows that and he is working hard on that.
“But in terms of pace and feedback, short run, long run pace, I think he’s good and I think he’s improved through the year.”
A decision on Perez’s future is expected in the days following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with either Lawson and Tsunoda poised to replace the Mexican alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull Racing next season.
