Max Verstappen has a little added pressure this year as a new teammate arrives in the building at Red Bull to replace Sergio Perez.
Liam Lawson beat Yuki Tsunoda in a Visa Cash App Racing Bulls battle for a promotion to the senior team at the end of 2024.
As a result, he gets to partner Verstappen at the team which has won four consecutive drivers’ championships.
Red Bull have some work to do to catch their rivals after falling behind in development last season, but with the 2026 F1 regulations on the horizon, this year doesn’t have any severe long-term consequences.
Red Bull would have hated Lawson’s testing spin as he was caught out by a gust of wind on Wednesday, allowing rivals to catch a glimpse of how the airflow on their car works.
On the positive side of things, Verstappen showed ominous pace and their car looks to be an improvement over the one they ended 2024 with.
Karun Chandhok says Liam Lawson ‘needs’ to finish second if Max Verstappen wins F1 title in 2025
2025 marks the first Red Bull car designed without Adrian Newey for nearly 20 years. Time will tell just how big of a role he played in their success.
They were third and sometimes fourth fastest towards the end of last season and were aware that resting on their laurels over the winter wouldn’t be enough to win again.
Christian Horner mentioned they have changed every surface of the car on the RB21, and have left no stone unturned in their pursuit of performance.
READ MORE: Liam Lawson’s gesture in Red Bull garage after first F1 testing laps will worry Max Verstappen
Speaking on Sky Sports F1, Karun Chandhok revealed that he thinks Lawson needs to finish right behind Verstappen if he wins the title and the car’s changes have been enough to keep them in the fight.
“I think he needs to be qualifying within two tenths of Max on average,” he said. “But more importantly, when the points are paid, he needs to be there within one or two places of Max really. He wants to finish, ideally, one position behind Max, but if not, maybe two positions behind Max.
“It all depends. If Max is winning the championship, the expectation on Liam is going to be to finish second or third. If Max does win the championship, it means the car is good enough.”
Why Max Verstappen’s first push lap of 2025 F1 testing was ‘crucial’ for Red Bull
After day one of testing, Verstappen finished third fastest with 72 laps under his belt. A very solid first day of running.
Until days before the test, Red Bull had been the most secretive team on the grid about their 2025 challenger. They may have been trying to hide something.
READ MORE: Ted Kravitz provides his theory on why Max Verstappen didn’t speak to fans at the F1 75 launch event
After hitting the track successfully, Ted Kravitz thinks Verstappen’s first push lap was ‘crucial’ and helped to show the team that their hard work may have paid off.
It’s too early to decide whether they will be championship contenders or not, but anything is usually possible with Verstappen behind the wheel.
Their constructors’ championship charge may come down to whether Lawson can be a better backup than Perez was in 2024.
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