Liam Lawson: Can the new Red Bull driver succeed in the 'toughest seat in Formula 1' after Sergio Perez's struggles? | Formula 1 news

After being placed in what many believe is the 'toughest seat in Formula 1', Liam Lawson faces the ultimate challenge of taking on Max Verstappen to secure his long-term future in the sport.

Red Bull announced on Thursday that 22-year-old New Zealander Lawson will be the four-time world champion's teammate in 2025.

Sergio Perez, Verstappen's longest-serving team-mate, has been dropped after four seasons with Red Bull after struggling badly for most of his final 18 months with the Milton Keynes outfit.

Before Perez, Pierre Gasly lasted just 12 races, before Alex Albon was let go after just over a season of driving alongside Verstappen.

Before them, Daniel Ricciardo, who at the time was considered among the elite drivers on the grid, opted to move to Renault after becoming frustrated that Red Bull was shaping their future around Verstappen.

talking to Sky Sports News This month, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “Driving alongside Max is the toughest seat in Formula 1, because he is the best driver on the grid.

“He's a four-time world champion, he's a generational talent. You almost have to ignore what's going on inside his car so you don't put too much pressure on yourself.”

It seems difficult, or perhaps impossible, for a driver who has competed in just 11 races, during which he has failed to stand out among the sport's exciting new generation of young talent.

So, as he put it from an exclusive interview with Sky Sports NewsWhy might Lawson be able to succeed where others have failed?

A full pre-season and a fast car

While Lawson's lack of experience creates doubts about how prepared he is for this moment, it is also one of the reasons the opportunity came his way.

His main rival for the seat – and teammate in all of his Formula 1 appearances to date – Yuki Tsunoda, has just completed his fourth full season in the sport, and has edged out Lawson, along with former RB Team drivers Ricciardo and Nyck de Vries. .

Given the results alone, the seat should have been Tsunoda's. But Red Bull appears to be relying on the theory that by the time Lawson has had as many races at the wheel of F1 as the Japanese driver currently does, he will have reached a higher level.

The first advantage he will experience is the opportunity to properly prepare for a full campaign.

“This is something I've never had before and it's exciting,” Lawson said. “I don't really know what to do with myself, to be honest, because I've had so much time to think about it now. I just want to get straight to it.

“It's going to be important. It's how you use that time as well. We'll start early, and I'm sure we'll already be doing a lot of preparation in January. It's just about making the most of the time before the season starts.” Bahrain test.

Another key factor that could enable Lawson to make an impact is that he jumps into a car that has won nine races in 2024.

It's very rare for a rookie to get a chance in a top car, but in 2025 there will be two, with Italian teenager Andrea Kimi Antonelli replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes following the Briton's decision to join Ferrari.

“There are definitely pros and cons to it. I think, where my mind is, obviously I just look at the positives and for me, it's very exciting, and I know it's going to be very difficult,” he said.

“I've never been to a lot of tracks. But to be in a car that has just won the world championship, as a driver, it's very exciting knowing that you're going into a competitive situation, but I'm fully aware of how difficult it is going to be.”

Learning from Verstappen… without realizing it

While Lawson lacks Grand Prix experience, he has spent a lot of time in and around the Red Bull team.

Unlike some of his predecessors, Lawson was able to closely monitor Verstappen during the Dutchman's rise to greatness.

When asked if being around Verstappen was helpful, Lawson said: “Absolutely, I think maybe even without him realizing it.

“Being a reserve for several years, I actually started spending a lot of time with Red Bull instead of RB.

“As a backup, I was watching all the sessions, listening to his feeds, listening to his calls during the sessions and just watching from the background. So I spent a lot of time watching how he did it, how he communicated with the officials.” The team and its feedback.

During his limited time on the grid, Lawson echoed Verstappen's uncompromising nature amid on- and off-track feuds with experienced rivals such as Perez and Fernando Alonso.

However, there are other elements of Verstappen's highly successful approach which Lawson says he is keen to follow.

“When he worked as a reserve last year in Zandvoort, he gave me a few tips, mostly about the mentality of how to do it,” Lawson said.

“He's obviously a very relaxed guy out of the car and he's been able to take a lot of pressure off I think, so for me that was something to watch and learn from.”

Advice from Albon

One area where Verstappen's former Red Bull teammates struggled most was adapting to the team's car design, which some suggested was geared towards his preference for oversteer.

While others may not have been as prepared, the sheer amount of testing Lawson was able to do during his time as the team's reserve driver may stand him in better stead than his predecessors.

“I've driven the car for the last two years and done the testing, and I can say that the car is very aggressive, and it takes a lot of confidence to drive it, frankly,” Lawson said.

“And I think that's where Max has a lot of confidence as a driver. But the main thing is that he's the best in the world right now.

“Playing against the best player is always going to be very difficult, and in the end that is probably the main reason why anyone has struggled so far to face him.”

On his way to Formula 1, Lawson raced in the German DTM sports car series in 2021, where he happened to be partnered with Albon, who had just been dropped by Red Bull.

Having already been clear about where he wanted to end up, Lawson questioned Albon for information that he hoped would help him in the future.

“When we were in the DTM, he probably got tired of me asking all the questions,” Lawson recalls. “But I did, I asked him a lot of questions about Red Bull and about what it was like in the team and what the car was like.” .

“I know the car was different at the time but to be honest, the characteristics were probably quite similar. I've driven the car and I can say it's aggressive, probably quite difficult to drive.

“He told me it's all about confidence. Clearly, going up against Max is what it takes.”

Overcoming difficulties

While one could build an argument that Lawson's unorthodox path to his Red Bull seat may have actually been the best possible preparation, most onlookers would see success for him as a bigger surprise than failure.

The good news for Lawson is that playing the underdog is nothing new for him.

For starters, he comes from a country that has produced only one other Formula 1 driver (who lasted just two seasons) in the past 40 years.

“I think in order to achieve at a high level in any sport or any industry you choose, being from New Zealand, I feel like it's always harder than a small country,” Lawson said.

“I personally didn't know how difficult it would be to achieve Formula 1, and I was always lucky because I believed in my ability to do it, and I was lucky that my family around me gave me that support. But looking back, it's a little bit harder.”

But even within New Zealand, Lawson's parents' lack of financial means meant that the transition from domestic to international competition was a challenge.

“For the first 12 months of karting, I finished strong every time,” Lawson recalls. “I was driving alone at the back of the field.”

“I was trying to convince my dad to get a better engine because I was convinced it was bad, and in the end he did. We put it on in this qualifying session at this big event and immediately we were in front, and that was the moment when karting got serious.

“For my parents, they sacrificed everything for me when I was a kid. Even just going karting, competing at the front in New Zealand, it's still very expensive.

“My parents don't have a house right now because of me growing up karting and leaving home. My brothers and my whole family have given up a lot to do this.”

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