Why Red Bull sources believe Max Verstappen is now contributing to Liam Lawson’s ‘difficult’ start

Red Bull Racing haven’t had the start to the 2025 Formula 1 season that they would have liked.

Max Verstappen is keeping himself in contention for the drivers’ championship but doesn’t look close to being the favourite at this stage.

His new teammate Liam Lawson has much bigger issues to deal with having failed to score a point after the first two races and Red Bull potentially considering his future.

Lawson could be swapped for Yuki Tsunoda ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix such is the level of disappointment in the 23-year-old’s start to life at Red Bull.

However, the New Zealander’s disappointing performances can’t be completely put down to him.

Verstappen suggested Lawson would be faster if he drove for Racing Bulls given that their car looks much easier to drive than the RB21.

Lawson’s final radio message in China confirmed that message as he struggled to deal with the balance of the car beyond the first lap.

READ MORE: Who is Red Bull Racing F1 driver Liam Lawson? Everything you need to know

Max Verstappen’s Red Bull demands making Liam Lawson’s job ‘more difficult’

Journalist Ronald Vording was speaking on the Autosport Podcast after the Chinese Grand Prix race weekend.

Vording was talking about Lawson’s future and the pressure he’s already under and explained: “I will stick to my earlier opinion, personally, I think it doesn’t matter at all who you put in the second Red Bull seat.

“If you talk to sources within the team, they all say, yeah, Max needs such a strong [front] end, the more we try to help him, and of course, they do because he’s delivering, the more difficult it gets for the second driver.

Verstappen 🆚 Leclerc

Max gets by with a mega move but Charles fought back hard 🍿#F1 #ChineseGP pic.twitter.com/2Z0AU9loNf

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 23, 2025

“So, basically, whoever is in the second seat will struggle massively which happened to Albon to Gasly to Checo Perez and now to Liam and I feel if they put Yuki in, at whatever point this season, he will struggle as well.

“So, to be really honest, I feel for Liam, thankfully it’s not my call and they will go through all the data next week.

“Also, Max Verstappen will visit the factory, [and] go through all the data on his side to see if they can come up with solutions for the RB21.”

READ MORE: Red Bull driver Max Verstappen’s life outside F1 from net worth to girlfriend

Max Verstappen making Red Bull demands amid Liam Lawson’s struggles

For years, Red Bull have designed a car that gets the best out of Verstappen and sacrificed some performance from the other side of the garage to do so.

Many of Verstappen’s teammates have struggled over the years while he’s been challenging for race wins, but that’s not happening this season.

He nearly won in Australia due to the changeable weather conditions rather than the speed of the car.

However, this year, the RB21 is no longer the dominant force on the grid but the operating window is still too narrow for Red Bull to have two drivers competing at the front of the pack.

Verstappen is said to be unhappy about the potential swap of Lawson and Tsunoda not because he objects to driving alongside the Japanese driver, but because it shows that Red Bull aren’t addressing the main problem.

Horner will know that he’s been overreliant on Verstappen for years and the RB21 might finally be the car that has pushed that beyond its limits.

The team’s next steps now are crucial to their short and long-term success.