Christian Horner has said Red Bull will examine all the information available to the team in deciding how to address the issue of Liam Lawson’s struggles.

Speculation is ramping up that Red Bull is eyeing up a potential change as to who might be alongside Max Verstappen in the second RB21 as Liam Lawson has failed to hit the ground running with the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Christian Horner fails to deny possibility Liam Lawson could be stood down

With Lawson eliminated from the first part of qualifying in Australia and China, as well as in the Sprint Qualifying event in Shanghai, the Kiwi driver is yet to score a point after starting from the pitlane in both Grands Prix.

It’s been a hugely difficult start to life at Red Bull for Lawson, who has been open about his struggles adjusting to driving the tricky Red Bull RB21 – a car that, while perhaps not the quickest on the grid, is proving to be a podium contender in Verstappen’s hands.

Having finished 15th in Shanghai after a sub-optimal two-stop strategy failed to yield much by way of forward momentum for Lawson, it’s understood Red Bull is evaluating all possible scenarios as to what to do if a decision is made to stand Lawson down from the senior team – the most likely scenario would likely be a direct swap between Lawson and Racing Bulls’ experienced driver Yuki Tsunoda.

The next race, the Japanese Grand Prix, is Tsunoda’s home event, and he has already welcomed the idea of jumping into the Red Bull if the opportunity were to arise.

Speaking to media after the Chinese Grand Prix, Horner spoke of his empathy for the position Lawson has found himself in so quickly into his dream drive with Red Bull but notably failed to shut down the speculation that Lawson could be replaced as soon as Japan.

“I think Liam’s had a tough, tough couple of races, a tough weekend here,” the Red Bull team boss said of Lawson.

“We elected to take him off the grid, out of parc fermé to do a significant setup change. And so we’ve managed to get 56 laps of reasonable data. From that, obviously we’ll take that away and we’ll have a good look at it. And as a group, we’ll do our best to support him.”

Asked directly if Lawson could be replaced for Japan, Horner said, “There’s always going to be speculation in the paddock. We’ve only just finished the race here. We’ll take away the info and have a good look at it.”

“Everything is purely speculative at the moment. As I said, we’ve just finished this race. We’re going to take away the info and have a good look at it.”

Put to him that a meeting to address the Lawson issue has been scheduled, as alluded to by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, Horner downplayed the importance of any potential discussion, “There’s nothing specific that’s been set up.”

With the likely candidates for any potential opening being the two Racing Bulls drivers, Horner offered no confirmation when asked if Tsunoda is the lead candidate.

“I’m not even going to comment on a change, because that’ll be your first headline,” he said.

“We’re two races into this championship. We have a sample of two – we have quite a bit of information. we’re gonna go away and have a good look at it and work with Liam and do the best that we can for him.

“There’s so much info, how he’s adapted to driving the car, and what he’s getting from the car. What can we do to help? Where are his major issues, what’s causing inconsistency?”

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Christian Horner on why Liam Lawson is struggling

Lawson has held his hands up about struggling to find the window of comfort and drivability with the RB21, saying that, as a professional driver, the onus is on him to get to grips with it.

Having admitted that he lacks time to adjust – meaning a lack of testing time during an active championship season that, with every event, costs him and Red Bull points – Lawson’s struggles have escalated to the point where Horner said he is sympathetic to the pressure he’s under.

“I think Liam still has got potential. We’re just not realising that at the moment,” he said.

“I think the problem for him is he’s had a couple of really tough weekends. He’s got all the media on his back, a whole bunch of pressure that just naturally grows in this business. I feel very sorry for him that you can see it’s very tough on him at the moment.”

With Lawson’s issues in the second Red Bull seemingly a continuance of the problems Sergio Perez faced – as did Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon half a decade ago as Perez’s predecessors – Horner said the issues clearly aren’t all car-related.

“Let’s remember that Checo [Perez] finished second in the world championship two years ago. The car is difficult to drive, and Max is able to adjust to that,” he said.

“Liam is obviously, confidence-wise, struggling with the car at the moment, which is why we made some significant changes today to see if we could find a more confidence-inspiring setup for him.

“He’s a young guy. We’ve got a duty to look after him and we’re going to do the best that we can to support him. Liam is still a very capable driver. We know that, we’re just not seeing him able to deliver that at the moment.”

Verstappen himself, in a voice of support for Lawson, suggested that Lawson would likely go quicker in the Racing Bulls car than he is in the Red Bull due to the tricky nature of the RB21, which Horner agreed with to a certain point.

“I think the Racing Bull is a more settled car in terms of it probably is a little more stable on entry,” he said.

“It probably has a bit more understeer in that car and therefore is easier to adapt to but you can see the difference in pace in the cars on a longer stint.

“But I think, in terms of finding the limit in a car that has inherent understeer, it is always going to be easier than finding the limit in a car that is a little more edgy.”

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