Max Verstappen was deeply frustrated after Saturday’s action at the Chinese Grand Prix. He was levels above Red Bull teammate Liam Lawson, but he’s concerned by their broader direction.
Verstappen came within two-hundredths of taking pole for the Sprint race on Friday. He started alongside Lewis Hamilton but slipped back to third behind Oscar Piastri.
There was further regression in Grand Prix qualifying as he took fourth, with George Russell able to split the two McLaren cars. Meanwhile, Lawson will once again start last.
After a Q1 exit and race-ending accident in Australia, the new Red Bull signing is having another desperate weekend. It’s already leading to questions over his future with the Milton Keynes outfit.
Max Verstappen adamant Liam Lawson would be faster in Racing Bulls car
Speaking to Dutch outlets including De Telegraaf, Verstappen addressed Lawson’s Chinese Grand Prix woes. Red Bull overlooked his former teammate Yuki Tsunoda when picking their replacement for Sergio Perez.
But despite driving inferior machinery, Tsunoda has been far more competitive. He’s made Q3 at both races so far, qualifying a superb P5 in Australia, and he secured his first points of the year by coming home sixth in the Sprint.
The Japanese driver will start ninth for the Grand Prix, two spots below his impressive teammate Isack Hadjar. Verstappen remarkably claimed that Lawson would be better off driving the VCARB02 at this stage.
Racing Bulls are the de facto junior team and finished more than 500 points behind Christian Horner’s squad last year. Thus, Verstappen’s comments are humiliating, but they reflect the ‘extremely difficult’ handling of the RB21.
“If you look at the difference between the two drivers at the other teams, they are all closer together,” he said. “It also shows that our car is extremely difficult.
| TEAM | LEAD DRIVER | SECOND DRIVER | GAP |
| McLaren | Oscar Piastri (1st) | Lando Norris (3rd) | 0.152s |
| Mercedes | George Russell (2nd) | Kimi Antonelli (8th) | 0.380s |
| Red Bull | Max Verstappen (4th) | Liam Lawson (20th) | 1.357s |
| Ferrari | Lewis Hamilton (5th) | Charles Leclerc (6th) | 0.094s |
| Racing Bulls | Isack Hadjar (7th) | Yuki Tsunoda (9th) | 0.559s |
| Williams | Alex Albon (10th) | Carlos Sainz (15th) | 0.245s |
| Haas | Esteban Ocon (11th) | Oliver Bearman (17th) | 0.393s |
| Sauber | Nico Hulkenberg (12th) | Gabriel Bortoleto (19th) | 0.509s |
| Aston Martin | Fernando Alonso (13th) | Lance Stroll (14th) | 0.204s |
| Alpine | Pierre Gasly (16th) | Jack Doohan (18th) | 0.100s |
“I think that when 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 notice that when I talk to Liam. Last year the difference between him and Yuki Tsunoda was not that big, I thought. Otherwise the team would not make the choice to put him in at Red Bull.”
Red Bull boss hints Liam Lawson is in danger amid Chinese Grand Prix woes
Helmut Marko won’t be happy with Lawson’s radio during qualifying, with the New Zealander complaining about Pierre Gasly overtaking him near the end of the lap. Martin Brundle says he just needs to get used to the ‘dog-eat-dog’ nature of F1.
It’s worth noting that Lawson didn’t try to make any excuses in his post-session interview. He pointed out before the season started that he hadn’t driven at many of the early circuits before, but he still would have expected far better than P20.
Red Bull have spoken highly of his resilience, and he’ll need it as speculation over his future begins to emerge. Tsunoda is the obvious replacement, though Verstappen maintains that his team made the right call.
Marko was blunt about Lawson after qualifying, underlining that ‘F1 is a competitive sport’. The subtext was that he’ll inevitably lose his drive if he doesn’t improve.
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