Liam Lawson’s journey as a Red Bull Racing driver in Formula 1 might be over before it’s even started.
The Chinese Grand Prix was another difficult weekend for Liam Lawson as he tackled another circuit he had no experience at.
He was in the same position as several other rookies but Red Bull wouldn’t have expected the New Zealander to qualify last for both the Sprint Race and Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Lawson has started from the pit lane for both Grand Prix thus far after making wide-ranging changes to his car, but nothing has helped him click with the car.
Red Bull are considering swapping Lawson with Yuki Tsunoda after an impressive start to the season for the Japanese driver.
Tsunoda scored points in Saturday’s Sprint Race but two poor strategy calls have cost him two top-10 finishes already this year.
Red Bull have a decision to make on their driver line-up ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix and after Tsunoda aimed a sly dig at Lawson earlier in the weekend, he may have second thoughts about accepting any promotion when he heard what the 23-year-old has to say about the RB21.
READ MORE: Who is Red Bull Racing F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know
Liam Lawson apologises to Red Bull after frustrating Chinese Grand Prix weekend
After the race, Lawson said as he was driving back to the pit lane: “Oh my god, man.”
His engineer replied, “Yeah, that was a bit of a slog today.”
Lawson continued, “Due, it lasted one lap! Balance was good for one lap and then it’s just, no fronts and then I can’t get on the power.
“Sorry mate, honestly, I tried everything to help that.”
Liam’s team radio after a tough day 📻 pic.twitter.com/Pn1tuRFr4L
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) March 23, 2025
In the comments beneath Lawson’s radio message, one fan replied: “Quite clear that the Red Bull development is in Verstappen’s direction, 2 drivers same issues. Goes to show how unique Max’s style is.”
Another fan said: “Sounds like he wants to swap with Yuki, why ruin your career in a car you can’t control when you can swap and wait for another chance with new regs [regulations].”
One comment summed up the situation perfectly and read: “That’s painful to hear that stuff. Desperation in his voice.”
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Max Verstappen tells Red Bull to make RB21 more driveable after Liam Lawson struggles
After qualifying in China, Verstappen said Lawson might be better off driving for Racing Bulls, such is the difficulty associated with the RB21.
He said: “If you look at the difference between the two drivers at the other teams, they are all closer together. It also shows that our car is extremely difficult.
“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.”
Verstappen is said to be unhappy with Red Bull over the proposal swap between Lawson and Tsunoda.
However, this isn’t because he’s got anything against having a new teammate but due to the team’s attitude towards building a car suitable for himself and whoever is in the garage next to him.
Red Bull find themselves in a real predicament and it’s becoming increasingly clear that they can’t simply rely on Verstappen to bail them out.
It’ll also be filling the Dutchman with very little confidence going into the new regulations next year that Red Bull will be one of the strongest forces on the grid, particularly with their first-ever in-house power unit.
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