Young Kiwi racer Liam Lawson is lined up to take over Sergio Perez’s open seat at Red Bull racing — but the “strong-headed” driver is expected to face some problems.

Karun Chandhok laid out some particular concerns with the mentality it takes to be a teammate to Max Verstappen, wondering how Lawson will fare.

Karun Chandhok: Can Liam Lawson “be mentally strong enough” for Red Bull?

With Sergio Perez stepping back from Red Bull Racing after four years of competition, it was clear that someone would have to take his place. Would it be the fiery Yuki Tsunoda, or the more inexperienced Liam Lawson?

Red Bull have opted for the latter driver, who has yet to complete a full season of F1 racing, with his participation these two previous years being as a replacement for Daniel Ricciardo.

Lawson revealed a fierce side as well in the 2024 season, getting into on-track spats with veteran drivers like Fernando Alonso and the outgoing Perez. On the Sky F1 podcast, Ted Kravitz said that’s the kind of “strong-headedness” that likely impressed Christian Horner and Helmut Marko.

But will it stand up to a full season of competition against Max Verstappen? Karun Chandhok has some concerns.

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Historically, being Max Verstappen’s teammate is something of a death sentence for a Formula 1 driver’s career. Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly, and Alex Albon have all tried their hand as Verstappen’s partner at Red Bull Racing. All three were ultimately dropped by the team.

“No driver on the planet wants to go up against Max Verstappen,” Karun Chandhok said on the Sky F1 podcast, summing up a feeling amongst many current Formula 1 drivers.

And that has nothing to do with the skill of Liam Lawson — something Chandhok admits is available in spades.

“Look, Liam doesn’t have the experience of Yuki Tsunoda, there’s doubt about it,” he argued.

“But if you look at his trajectory in — what has he done? Nine Grands Prix? Ten Grands Prix? He’s on par with Yuki in terms of pace.

“You know, the average qualifying difference is .07 — you’re talking a few hundredths. So he’s quick. There’s do doubt about it.”

That speed could potentially be refined into strong race craft, but Chandhok is worried about what those expectations of speed could do to Lawson when it comes time to put in World Constructors’ Championship-worthy performances.

“In terms of the races, he doesn’t have the experience, and I think that’s where the challenge is up against Max,” Chandhok said.

“In the time that they’ve had together this season, Yuki scored eight points versus four for Liam.

“Admittedly, RB weren’t as competitive as they were at the start of the year, but that’s just fact.

“So I think for Liam, it’s not so much about, can he be quick enough? Because I think he is quick. I think everything we saw in junior categories and we’ve seen at RB is he’s fast.

“The trouble with driving up against Max or Fernando is, it’s like playing against Nadal on clay: Whatever you do, the ball just keeps flying back.”

And that kind of relentlessness is what Chandhok sees as the biggest issue.

“Every time you’ve done a lap in the race, Max has just done a better lap, and he just metronomically hammers those laps home,” Chandhok pointed out.

“And I think that’s where he mentally just grinds the teammates down.

“So can Liam mentally be strong enough to take the grinding and rise to the challenge? That’s the big question for me.”

Lawson’s perceived strong-headedness will likely be a benefit here, but as we’ve seen, plenty of strong drivers have folded under the pressure Max Verstappen has piled on their shoulders.

Read next: Revealed: The truth behind Lawson’s meeting with Horner at the Mexico GP