Red Bull boss Christian Horner has admitted it has attempted to avoid heightening the pressure on Liam Lawson before his upcoming Formula 1 debut with the team.
Sergio Perez’s demise and eventual ousting saw Red Bull go with Lawson over his Racing Bulls team-mate Yuki Tsunoda to make the step up to the senior side in 2025.
Lawson’s promotion comes despite having made less than a dozen F1 starts across two spells with the satellite squad, making him the least experienced Red Bull driver ever.
The daunting challenge awaiting the New Zealander will be heightened as he is pitted alongside Max Verstappen in what is regarded as the toughest gig on the F1 grid.
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko revealed that the team is expecting Lawson to be within “three-tenths” of Verstappen, who secured his fourth consecutive title in 2024.
However, Perez’s disastrous campaign – which comprised 21 points across the last 10 rounds – saw Red Bull slump to third place in the Constructors’ Championship.
But while Lawson will be tasked with aiding Verstappen to help Red Bull’s bid to regain the title, Horner has insisted the team has tried not to place a burden on its new driver.
“We’ve tried very hard not to put pressure on him so far and he’s basically easing his way in,” Horner said at the Autosport Awards.
“He’s in the US at the moment. He will be back in the simulator again next week. So he’s doing a decent job and we’re just trying to ease him in quite gently.”
Can Lawson survive the Red Bull pressure?
The second Red Bull seat has become renowned as a poisoned chalice since Daniel Ricciardo’s initial exit in 2018, with several drivers succumbing to the pressure.
Both Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon collapsed under the strain, whilst Perez, even with vast experience in the sport, was unable to provide sustained support to Verstappen.
But Horner is convinced that Lawson has the “determination and skill” to cope with the mental demands that going up against the Dutchman in the same team demands.
“It’s great to have Liam with us this year,” Horner added at an event with Ford. “Being Max Verstappen’s team-mate is probably the hardest job in Formula 1.
“But in Liam, I think we have got a driver who is incredibly talented.
“He is a young guy, just making his way in the sport, and I think that he has the skill, the determination and the mentality to cope with it.
“I mean, it looks like he should be in a boy band…”
Lawson relishing Verstappen challenge
Lawson, who debuted in a Red Bull when he replaced Verstappen in FP1 at the 2022 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, is relishing the chance to observe the reigning F1 champion up close.
“I think it would be the biggest challenge to go up against Max,” Lawson told media including Motorsport Week in Abu Dhabi prior to the announcement.
“In a way it’s the best seat on the grid to be in. You get to learn directly off the best guy.
“To have access to his data every single session, to see exactly how he’s performing.
“For me as a driver who’s come into Formula 1, and is developing, it’s the best possible situation for me to be in.
“It would be what I would love. To have that data is what’s going to make me better.”
READ MORE – Red Bull assigns ex-Sergio Perez crew member as Liam Lawson’s F1 race engineer
