Liam Lawson shares what was ‘weird’ about his Red Bull move ahead of 2025 F1 season

Liam Lawson will embark on his first full season in F1 in 2025. The Kiwi driver will line up alongside reigning four-time champion Max Verstappen.

The 23-year-old has made 11 Grand Prix starts in his career so far, replacing Daniel Riccardo at Racing Bulls (formerly AlphaTauri) in 2023 and 2024.

Replacing the Aussie for five races after his injury at Zandvoort in 2023, Lawson scored his first points in F1 in Singapore with ninth place. The Kiwi driver returned to the Faenza outfit last year for the final six races after Ricciardo’s dismissal, scoring four points.

Lawson was able to keep pace with his teammate Yuki Tsunoda in 2024. However, the latter generally outperformed the former, with the Japanese driver winning 6-0 in the qualifying battle.

But despite having four years in F1 behind him compared to his inexperienced teammate, Tsunoda was snubbed of the second Red Bull seat after Sergio Perez parted ways with the team.

Helmut Marko says Lawson has the mental capacity to deal with being Verstappen’s teammate. The Dutchman has dominated the second Red Bull driver since 2018, with Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and Perez all being dropped.

Liam Lawson felt ‘weird’ having Red Bull seat confirmed before the winter break

Anthony Davidson believes Lawson will be under ‘immense’ pressure from the off at Red Bull. The Kiwi driver will be expected to perform from the first race in Australia and challenge at the front.

The 23-year-old has been testing Red Bull machinery as their reserve driver last year, giving him solid experience with the car heading into 2025. Furthermore, he has had more time to prepare during the winter break ahead of a full campaign in F1.

Speaking with RacingNews365, Lawson admitted it felt ‘weird’ having ‘time to think about’ his Red Bull move rather than being thrust straight into a seat.

“I think today it’s starting to feel a lot more real. It was the first time I had a confirmed seat going into a season break.

“So, I had a lot more time to sit on it and honestly that felt weird because normally I don’t really have time to think about it.

“So, it almost didn’t feel real for a while and then basically, coming into today, we’re in the simulator a lot more the next few weeks. So now it’s very real.”

How will Liam Lawson match up against Max Verstappen at Red Bull?

Verstappen is excited to be working with Lawson in 2025. The duo will hope to help Red Bull regain the constructors’ title as well as defend the former drivers’ championship.

The Milton Keynes-based outfit finished third behind McLaren and Ferrari in 2024 – mainly due to Perez’s poor form from Miami onwards. The Mexican did not finish in the top five after that race.

Naturally, Red Bull will want the Kiwi driver to perform better than Perez. But Christian Klien hopes Red Bull do not make the same mistake as Albon and put too much pressure on Lawson.

But it does feel as though the 23-year-old will have some pressure on him – after all, he is racing for a team expected to win races and regularly score podiums.

Tom Coronel has warned there could be ‘unrest’ at Red Bull if Lawson beats Verstappen too frequently. The Dutchman is the team’s main asset and will want to keep him in front at all costs.