Liam Lawson to Red Bull? Being Max Verstappen’s teammate dubbed ‘hardest job in F1′

Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson at the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix. Photo / Getty Images

A former Formula One technical director is worried Kiwi driver Liam Lawson faces a short career in the sport if he gets the call-up to join four-time defending champion Max Verstappen at Red Bull next year.

Lawson is expected to learn about his future this week after ending his six-drive stint with Racing Bulls following yesterday’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

A pit-stop error dashed Lawson’s hopes of finishing in the points before an engine failure ended his race on the final lap. Lawson ended the season with four points, with two ninth-placed finishes in Austin and Sao Paulo.

Red Bull have reportedly made the call to end Sergio Perez’s time with the team, with Lawson the frontrunner to replace him.

Writing in a column for The Daily Telegraph in which he made predictions for the 2025 season, former Jordan and Jaguar F1 technical director Gary Anderson said being a teammate of Verstappen was “the hardest job in F1″.

Anderson said Red Bull cater the car build around the Dutchman, which wouldn’t suit Lawson, while chief technology officer Adrian Newey departing for Aston Martin is a big loss for the team.

“It looks as if Sergio Perez will be on his way out of Red Bull to be replaced by current RB driver Liam Lawson. Being Verstappen’s teammate is arguably the hardest job in F1 as we have seen in recent years. The Kiwi has not exactly dominated teammate Yuki Tsunoda and has only raced in 11 grands prix,” Anderson wrote.

“I worry that it could be a short-lived career if the car Red Bull produce at the start of the year is problematic and Verstappen, as he usually does, manages to find a way around it. Perhaps the team should design a car to suit a more ‘normal’ driving style and then adapt it towards Verstappen rather than initially catering towards the Dutchman’s needs. With the loss of Newey, I am not sure they have the technical knowledge to do this now.”

Perez and Verstappen have been Red Bull teammates for the past four seasons, with the Mexican claiming five Grand Prix victories over that time.

However, he struggled this season after making five podiums in the opening six races eventually finishing eighth in the driver standings which saw Red Bull fail to claim the Constructors title for a third straight year.

Lawson last week said he was ready to make the step up to the Red Bull team.

“I do feel like if the opportunity one day came to go to Red Bull, I feel ready for it,” he said.

“I think I would relish the opportunity to go up against [Max Verstappen] if I ever got that opportunity. You get to learn from the best guy.

“You get access to everything he’s doing, to all of his data. To have that for every single session, for me, would be the most exciting part about that opportunity. So yes, I’d say I feel ready.”