Analysis

Liam Lawson: Can new Red Bull driver succeed in 'hardest seat in F1' after Sergio Perez struggles?

Liam Lawson becomes the latest driver given the huge task of being team-mate to quadruple world champion at Red Bull - is the young New Zealander the one for the job and what might stand him in good stead to succeed where others have failed?

Friday 20 December 2024 06:37, UK

Having been thrust into what many believe to be "the hardest seat in Formula 1", Liam Lawson is facing the ultimate challenge of going up against 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 reigning world champion's team-mate in 2025.

Sergio Perez, Verstappen's longest lasting team-mate, was dropped after four seasons with Red Bull having struggled badly over much of his final 18 months with the Milton Keynes squad.

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

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

Speaking to Sky Sports News this month, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: "Driving alongside Max is the hardest seat in Formula 1, because he is the best driver on the grid.

"He is a four-time world champion, he's a generational talent. You've got to ignore almost what's going on within his car so as to not put too much pressure on yourself."

It sounds like a tall, or perhaps impossible, order for a driver that has competed in just 11 grands prix, during which time he has failed to stand out among the sport's exciting new generation of young talent.

So, in his own words from an exclusive interview with Sky Sports News, why 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 over his preparedness for this moment, it's also in part the reason why the opportunity has come his way.

His main rival for the seat - and team-mate for all of his F1 appearances to date - Yuki Tsunoda, has just completed his fourth full season in the sport, and out-performed Lawson, along with previous RB drivers Ricciardo and Nyck de Vries.

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

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

"That's something that I've never had and it's exciting," Lawson said. "I don't really know what to do with myself, to be honest, because I've got so much time to think about it now. I almost just want to get straight into it.

"It's going to be important. It's how you use that time as well. We'll start early, I'm sure in January we'll already be doing a lot of preparations. It's just about making the most of it going into the Bahrain test."

The other major factor that could enable Lawson to make an impact is that he is jumping into a car that won nine races in 2024.

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

He said: "There's definitely pros and cons to that. I think, where my head is at, obviously I'm just looking at the pros and for me it's super exciting, and I know it's going to be extremely tough.

"A lot of tracks I've never been to. But to be in a car that's just won the world championship, as a driver, that's extremely exciting knowing that you're going into a competitive situation, but I'm fully aware of how tough it's going to be."

Learning from Verstappen… without him realising

While Lawson lacks grand prix experience, he has spent no shortage of time in and around the Red Bull team.

Unlike some of his predecessors, Lawson has been able to closely watch Verstappen during the Dutchman's ascent to greatness.

Asked whether being around Verstappen has been helpful, Lawson said: "For sure, I think even probably without him realising it.

"Being a reserve for quite a few years, I started actually spending a lot more time with Red Bull rather than RB.

"As a reserve I was watching all the sessions, listening to his debriefs, listening to his communication during the sessions and just watching from in the background. So I spent a lot of time watching how he does it, how his communication is with the team, his feedback."

During his limited spell on the grid, Lawson has replicated Verstappen's uncompromising nature amid on-and-off-track disputes with experienced rivals such as Perez and Fernando Alonso.

However, it's other elements of Verstappen's hugely successful approach that Lawson says he is keen to follow.

"Stepping in as reserve last year in Zandvoort, he gave me little bits of advice, mostly on the mindset of how he goes about it," Lawson said.

"He's obviously a very relaxed guy outside of the car and he manages to push away a lot of the pressure I think, so for me that was something to watch and learn from."

Lessons from Albon

An area in which Verstappen's previous Red Bull team-mates have struggled badly has been coping with the design of the team's cars, which some have suggested has been geared towards his preference for oversteer.

While others may have been unprepared for this, the significant amount of testing Lawson has been 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 over the last couple of years and done tests, and I can say the car's very aggressive, and it takes a lot of confidence to drive it, honestly," Lawson said.

"And I think that's where Max is obviously extremely confident as a driver. But the main thing is that he's the best in the world right now.

"To go up against the best guy is always going to be very, very tough, and ultimately that's probably the main reason that anybody has struggled so far to go up against him."

On his path to F1, Lawson competed in German sportscar racing series DTM in 2021, where he happened to be partnered with Albon, who had just been dropped by Red Bull.

Already clear on where he wanted to end up, Lawson grilled Albon for information that he hoped could aid him in the future.

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

"I know the car was different back then but honestly, the characteristics are probably quite similar. And I've driven the car and I can say that it is aggressive, and it's probably quite hard to drive.

"He told me it was all about confidence. And going up against Max, that's what it obviously takes."

Beating the odds with Kiwi spirit

While one could construct an argument that Lawson's unorthodox route to his Red Bull seat might actually have 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 role of the underdog isn't new to him.

To begin with, he comes from a country that has produced just one other F1 driver (who only lasted two seasons) in the last 40 years.

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

"I didn't personally know how unachievable F1 was, I always was lucky that I just believe I could do it and I was lucky that my family around me gave me that support. But looking back, it is that bit harder."

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

"The first 12 months of go-karting I did, I finished solidly last every single time. I was just driving by myself at the back of the field," Lawson recalled.

"I was trying to convince my dad to get a better engine because I was convinced that it was bad, and finally he did. And we put it on for this qualifying session at this big event and straight away we were at the front, and that was the moment that karting became serious.

"For my parents, they sacrificed everything for me as kid. Even just to race go-karts, to compete at the front in New Zealand it's still extremely expensive.

"My parents don't own a house right now because of me growing up karting and leaving home. My siblings, my whole family has given up a lot for me to do this."

In a 2025 season already stacked full of fascinating storylines, Lawson's attempt to prove he belongs at the front of the grid promises to entertain.

Watch all 24 race weekends from the 2025 Formula 1 season live on Sky Sports F1, starting with the Australian GP on March 14-16. Stream Sky Sports with NOW - No contract, cancel anytime

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