Red Bull Racing are already facing another difficult decision just two races into the 2025 Formula 1 season.
Liam Lawson has struggled to handle a notoriously difficult Red Bull during his first race weekends as a full-time F1 driver.
His performance at the Chinese Grand Prix has ended up piling pressure on his immediate future at Red Bull after qualifying last for both races and failing to score a point despite three cars ahead of him being disqualified.
A swap between Lawson and Yuki Tsunoda looks likely in the very near future but whether it happens before or after the next race in Japan appears to still be up for debate.
Lawson is the latest in a growing list of drivers who have struggled to race alongside Max Verstappen.
Sergio Perez lasted longer than any of his predecessors, racing for four seasons next to the Dutchman and supporting him to various degrees during each of his championship campaigns.
However, Lawson is learning quickly why Perez ended up finishing 285 points behind his teammate but the Mexican driver might have played a role in why the 23-year-old is already struggling.
READ MORE: Sergio Perez’s life outside F1 from net worth to nickname
Sergio Perez’s lack of feedback causing Liam Lawson issues at Red Bull
A report from The Times has shared more details about Lawson’s predicament after the first double-header of the season.
They believe that the RB21 hasn’t been ‘engineered specifically’ for Verstappen, however, he’s much more adept at extracting the positives out of the car while driving around its weaknesses.
However, The Times reports that Perez provided ‘very little feedback’ on last year’s car, which the team suggests has contributed to its current issues.
Instead, engineers took his teammate’s suggestions and Verstappen is working hard behind the scenes to continue ironing out these problems.
The 27-year-old is understood to be ‘more committed than ever’ to solving these problems but it’s yet to be seen whether Lawson will be the driver alongside him going forward to benefit from these discussions.
Lots of “tough” learnings to get on top off of from the Chinese Grand Prix, according to Lawson 👇#F1 pic.twitter.com/WEqAZiL5aa
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2025
It’s believed that Lawson does have a ‘good feel for the car’ and the feedback he’s delivering to his engineers is accurate, however, it’s given him no confidence that he can push the car to its limits thus far.
Verstappen believes Lawson would be faster at Racing Bulls due to the ease with which Tsunoda and Isack Hadjar are pushing the VCARB 02 compared to the tricky balance of the RB21.
READ MORE: Who is Red Bull Racing F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know
Sergio Perez voiced concerns at Red Bull before his exit last season
While Perez’s feedback may not have been as crucial to Red Bull’s development then Verstappen’s, he did make it clear that he wasn’t happy.
Perez received an apology from Red Bull when Verstappen’s dominance over the rest of the field started to disappear and he began to voice similar concerns to the Mexican.
Unfortunately, by then it was too late, and any alterations to the car were too minimal to help a driver who had once guided a Racing Point to victory.
The incredible tyre management and racing intelligence Perez had previously demonstrated was gone and while Lawson is far less experienced, his strongest attributes are already being dulled by Red Bull’s car.
He’s unable to be as aggressive as he would like, and keeping the RB21 in its optimum performance window has proven to be impossible, as Lawson’s complaints on the team radio in China demonstrated.
While a move to Racing Bulls may bring better performances, the damage it will do to his confidence and reputation will be a particular concern to team principal Christian Horner.
