Commentators have already begun to suggest that Lawson might not have the full faith of his Red Bull bosses, even if he does have the hardest job in motorsport as Max Verstappen’s teammate.
But these two race weekends don’t tell the whole story of what’s really going on at Red Bull this season. The Kiwi has been thrown in the deep end, and needs the one thing he might not be afforded if he’s to have any chance to succeed - time.
Here’s what we learned in Shanghai:
The drums beat
Just hours after Oscar Piastri claimed the chequered flag in Shanghai, the reports started to emerge.
Ranging from a Red Bull midweek meeting to discuss the rest of the season, to outright claiming the team will swap Lawson for Racing Bulls stablemate Yuki Tsunoda.
Only time will tell as to what’s true, not helped by Red Bull’s scattergun approach to driver line-ups over recent years.
On one hand, would Red Bull really pull the trigger on Lawson, just two races into backing him as their man? It just doesn’t make any sense, and would ultimately do more harm than good.
On the other, instilling Tsunoda to step into Red Bull car for his home race in Japan next month would, at the very least, tick a box to make the most of the Suzuka weekend.
Red Bull made a similar move last year, when Daniel Ricciardo was subbed out of the only practice session to allow reserve driver Ayumu Iwasa time behind the wheel on his home track for Racing Bulls.
There is definitely already precedent to move Lawson back down to Racing Bulls – Red Bull did the same to Pierre Gasly back in 2019. However, that came after 12 races, not two.
Watch this space.
Tsunoda no saviour
Say what you want about Lawson’s struggles, but there’s no way Red Bull could or should look to Yuki Tsunoda to be their saviour – if it comes to that.
The reason Lawson was awarded the Red Bull seat over Tsunoda in the first place was about so much more than results on track.
Even having been with Red Bull’s junior side for more than four years, the Japanese driver has always had a reputation for being too temperamental on track, if and when things don’t go his way.
What’s more, his results this season – scoring the same number of Grand Prix points as Lawson – are nothing to write home about.
In Melbourne, Tsunoda qualified fifth but finished 12th in admittedly tricky conditions. In Shanghai he qualified ninth, but finished 19th after losing his front wing in a collision that could have been avoided.
What’s more, it’s no secret that Tsunoda’s place within Red Bull’s ranks has come through his links to engine supplier Honda, who will themselves leave the team at the end of this season.
If Red Bull do make the call to switch their drivers, they shouldn’t – and most likely wouldn’t – expect that to be long-term, either.
Verstappen’s support
If the Kiwi needs any support, he seemingly has it from his teammate.
As a four-time world champion, Verstappen knows he has the rub of the green in the fact Red Bull’s entire team revolves around maximising his performance, and his performance alone.
Up against Ferrari and McLaren in particular, who each boast two drivers who will contend for world titles, Verstappen needs everything he can get from Lawson, if Red Bull want to reclaim the constructors’ title.
Speaking after qualifying, Verstappen made it clear he has some sympathy for Lawson, given the performance of the two Racing Bulls drivers.
“If you look at the difference between the two drivers at the other teams, they are all closer together,” Verstappen told Dutch media. “It also shows that our car is extremely tough. I think if you put Liam in the Racing Bulls car, he will go faster. I really think so.
“That car is easier to drive than ours. I also notice that when I talk to Liam. Last year, I didn’t think the difference between him and Yuki Tsunoda was that big. Otherwise the team wouldn’t make the choice to put him in at Red Bull either.”
The Dutchman has seen teammates come and go, largely leaving him alone in fighting for constructors titles. If the rot is going to stop, Red Bull need to find a pair that works, and have to tailor their car to a middleground between both drivers.
Elbows out
Not accounting for recency bias, we did actually see the Liam Lawson of old over the course of the Chinese Grand Prix.
Grand Prix struggles aside, Lawson looked to be getting on top of things during the shorter, 19-lap sprint race.
Qualifying 20th and starting 19th, Lawson managed 14th place in the sprint – a credible performance in the context of his issues on track.
From the back of the grid, Lawson was able to maximise the advantage of his faster car.
Only Gasly was able to match Lawson in performing the most overtakes on track, getting past Jack Doohan of Alpine, Haas’ Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman, and Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto.
What’s more, getting past Doohan in particular saw Lawson brake late into the turn 14 hairpin, touch wheels, and accelerate out of the corner. It’s a move we’ve seen so many times from Lawson, even if it’s yet to consistently happen this year.
As team principal Christian Horner said post-race, there is a proper driver in there with Lawson. He just needs the tools to bring it out.
Safety at Suzuka
After a week off, then, Japan’s Suzuka circuit should offer some respite.
Lawson has raced on the famous track no fewer than four times already – once in Formula One, where he finished 11th and missed the points by one place, and three times in Japan’s Super Formula championship.
If the problems of the past two weeks are to be put down to Lawson not being fully up to speed in a new car, on tracks he’s never driven on, half of that problem will be solved.
What’s more, the next weekend is not a sprint, meaning a proper three practice sessions in the car to get used to the challenge before qualifying and the race.
Here’s hoping it’s behind the wheel of the RB21, and not Yuki Tsunoda’s old Racing Bulls car.
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.
