Liam Lawson will be taking on a difficult challenge next season when he becomes the teammate of defending F1 World Champion Max Verstappen.
Red Bull has decided that Lawson will replace Sergio Perez, following a difficult season for the Mexican in which he effectively cost the team a chance to win the Constructors’ Championship.
Perez’s poor results towards the end of the season, in which he took one point in seven races, meant they were mathematically out of contention with two races left. Red Bull lost millions in prize money, while McLaren gained a significant amount winning their first Constructors’ title since 1998.
Lawson will have a tough task going up against Verstappen, considering the Dutchman is known for having a very aggressive car.
Speaking with Sky Sports F1 after the Red Bull announcement, Lawson confirmed that he will be seeking advice from another former Red Bull driver.
Liam Lawson to call Alex Albon for advice on how to handle ‘aggressive’ Red Bull
Alex Albon has previously spoken about how challenging it was going up against Verstappen, and Lawson plans to call him and draw on his 104 races of experience for advice on how to handle Red Bull’s car.
“When we were in DTM he probably got sick of me asking all the questions, but I did ask him a lot of questions about Red Bull and what it was like in the team and how the car was,” said Lawson.
“I know that car was different back then, but the characteristics are the same and I’ve driven it in the simulator and it is aggressive and hard to drive. He told me it was all about confidence and going up against Max that’s what it takes.
“I think he’ll be somebody that I contact again knowing that, because this is all new, I’ll be on the phone to Alex in the next couple of weeks because for sure to get more info.”
Christian Horner tells Liam Lawson what he must ‘ignore’ going up against Max Verstappen
One of the things that Albon found challenging with Verstappen as his teammate was how the car setup would be very sharp at the front end, likening it to bumping the sensitivity up on a video game.
Christian Horner has warned Lawson that he should not get caught up in the data, especially with Verstappen’s car.
Albon, Pierre Gasly, and Daniel Ricciardo all fell into this trap while Perez also noted at the end of last season that he was ‘lost’ with his car setups.
Lawson will do well to learn from the mistakes of his predecessors, considering he is also going up against some of F1’s biggest drivers at other teams like Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and George Russell.
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