Alex Albon sends five-word message to Liam Lawson amid Red Bull woes at Australian Grand Prix

Alex Albon and Liam Lawson had very different outcomes in their first qualifying sessions of the 2025 Formula 1 season.

The former enjoyed a fantastic outing as he put his Williams in P6 for the race on Sunday. Teammate Carlos Sainz managed 10th, marking the first time both the team’s cars made Q3 in Melbourne since 2005.

The Grove-based outfit looked to have taken a huge step forward in development over the winter – with their signing from Ferrari being key behind the scenes. David Croft scrambled to put Sainz in his F1 Fantasy team after seeing how comfortable he seemed in the FW47.

Albon is in a great position to score points at the Australian Grand Prix. However, the same cannot be said for Lawson.

The Kiwi driver suffered a disaster in qualifying as he was knocked out in Q1. He could only manage P18 for the race as he appeared to struggle with the rear of the car.

Sergio Perez fans mocked Lawson over his Q1 elimination – the Mexican was replaced by the 23-year-old after his sacking from Red Bull in 2024. Ahead of his first race for the team, Lawson received an ominous message from Albon.

Alex Albon wishes Liam Lawson and the rookies ‘good luck’ for the Australian Grand Prix

The back end of the RB21 proved difficult to deal with for Lawson. The Kiwi driver was lucky not to find the barriers at turn three when he went across the gravel trap.

His lack of experience with the Albert Park circuit may be a factor in his performance. Lawson’s ‘face dropped’ in disappointment when he found out he is the only 2025 driver to have never driven the track before this weekend.

However, the other new full-time drivers also lack the experience of racing at Albert Park in F1. Oliver Bearman will start last after suffering a gearbox problem while Kimi Antonelli was the second big name knocked out of Q1.

Gabriel Bortoleto, Jack Doohan and Isack Hadjar were eliminated in Q2 and will be hoping for a strong race on Sunday. The Australian Grand Prix is known for producing chaotic moments in F1 – and the 2025 race could be set for more ‘carnage’.

READ MORE: Who is Red Bull Racing F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Rain is forecast for the race which will throw a huge curveball for strategy and create an interesting run down to turn one. Speaking on Sky Sports after qualifying, Albon wished the rookies ‘good luck’ as they – and the rest of the grid – had not driven in wet conditions in their 2025 cars.

“I mean let’s start with the points first. It will be interesting because no one’s driven in the rain before and we’re kind of guaranteeing it’s going to be wet tomorrow,” he said.

“No one’s driven on the wets or the inters, good luck to the rookies! But let’s see, anything can happen. I’m hoping [for] a fairly safe race but look, there’s going to be carnage for sure.”

Christian Horner sent dreaded Sergio Perez advice to Liam Lawson ahead of the Australian Grand Prix

While Albon and Williams are in dreamland, Lawson and Red Bull have it all to do on Sunday. The rain will not help the Kiwi driver’s fortunes on a track he has no experience of racing on.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit would not have expected the 23-year-old to beat or match Max Verstappen’s time – who starts P3. However, they certainly would have anticipated better than a Q1 exit for their second driver.

Team principal Christian Horner has told Lawson to ‘almost ignore’ Verstappen on the other side of the garage and focus on himself. This will not be what he wants to hear as it was the same advice given to Perez during his struggles in 2024 – it confirms his number two status.

Several of Verstappen’s previous teammates – including Albon – have failed to keep up with the Dutchman and were ultimately dropped by Red Bull. It is feared Lawson could be next.

Karun Chandhok is worried it is ‘too soon’ for Lawson to be in the Red Bull car in 2025 – his concerns may be justified after his performance in qualifying in Melbourne.