Lawson’s two grands prix with Red Bull were in Australia and China, tracks that he had never raced at before.

He said the decision to demote him was “a done deal” by the time Red Bull principal Christian Horner called him in the days following Shanghai.

But Lawson said the experience had not affected his confidence and will serve as motivation.

“For me the main thing is being in a car and have the opportunity to prove why I belong here,” he said.

“And that’s what I’ll try and do and that’s what I do every single time I get in the car, and that’s what I’ll be doing this weekend.”

He added: “We all have enough self-belief to be there.

“If you don’t have that, it makes it very difficult. It doesn’t really change how I feel about myself.”

Lawson said returning to Red Bull in the future was not in his thoughts at the moment.

“Whatever happens down the line is out of my control,” he said.

“What I can control is the driving stuff. Where the future goes, I’m not really thinking about it too much.”