Liam Lawson will get only half the F1 2025 season to prove he is worthy of keeping hold of his Red Bull seat.

That is the warning coming from six-time Formula 1 grand prix winner Ralf Schumacher, who seen an opportunity fraught with danger for the Kiwi.

Could Red Bull axe Liam Lawson at F1 2025 summer break?

Following Sergio Perez’s departure from the team – after a torrid 2024 campaign which saw him slump to P8 in the championship – Red Bull looked within their own ranks and plucked out Liam Lawson to be Max Verstappen’s new teammate, Lawson impressing Red Bull in his two super-sub stints across the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

Lawson has been tasked by Red Bull boss Christian Horner with supporting their charge back to the Constructors’ title, having dropped to P3, with Perez ending last season 285 points behind Verstappen who won his fourth straight Drivers’ crown.

But, Schumacher, speaking as a pundit for Sky Germany, warned that “in Formula 1, you don’t have a lot of time”, and he expects that will ring especially true for Lawson.

“I think he will get half a season,” Schumacher predicts. “And if he shows it then, he will have a good seat.”

However, he is going up against a driver who has become the Red Bull teammate destroyer, with Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon and now Perez sent packing.

“But next to Max Verstappen, that is quite a challenge,” Schumacher cautioned.

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The term ‘driving style’ has often been called upon when assessing a teammate struggling up against Verstappen, Perez making the point in 2024 that the Dutchman was “less sensitive to the issues” which Red Bull encountered in a mid-season slump due to his “style”.

However, Lawson is not exactly down with the whole driving style debate.

“In terms of driving styles, I don’t really know if I believe in it so much in terms of a driving style,” Lawson told PlanetF1.com’s Thomas Maher.

“I think you have certain things you like a car to do but I think also, for me, I spent a lot of time developing that car as well, as a junior and as a reserve for the last couple of years, and I feel like I understand quite well the way the car drives.

“But I also don’t fully believe in ‘This doesn’t suit your driving style’.

“I think as drivers, we’re professionals, we have to adapt to whatever we’re driving.”

So, if it is not the capability to master Red Bull machinery, what is it that gives Verstappen the power to destroy Red Bull teammates?

Ability, is the main factor at play, according to Lawson.

“I’ve driven the car over the last couple of years and done tests, and I can say the car is very aggressive and it takes a lot of confidence to drive it, honestly,” he told Sky F1.

“And I think that’s where Max is obviously extremely confident as a driver.

“But, the main thing is just he’s the best in the world right now, so to go up against the best guy, is always going to be very, very tough.

“And ultimately, that’s probably the main reason that anybody has struggled so far to go up against him.”

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