Liam Lawson has a big year ahead of him going up against Formula 1 juggernaut Max Verstappen at Red Bull.
Red Bull’s domination over F1 came crashing to a halt in 2024, with the team encountering balance issues with the RB20 machined.
That paved the way for McLaren and Ferrari to mount a consistent challenge and a 10-race win drought for Verstappen between the Spanish and Sao Palou Grands Prix.
Still, having won seven of the first 10 races and persevered through the team’s struggles, Verstappen emerged as a four-time F1 champion.
Sergio Perez, meanwhile, wasn’t as fortunate and a torrid campaign saw his Red Bull F1 chapter come to a close.
Having returned to the sister squad at the United States GP, Lawson has shown Red Bull he has the potential to partner Verstappen.
2025 is set to be a tough year for both Red Bull drivers with Lawson tasked with keeping up with Verstappen and the Dutchman set to face a renewed challenge from the team’s rivals.
Liam Lawson
With just 11 GP starts under his belt, Lawson has been handed arguably the toughest gig in F1: being Verstappen’s team-mate.
There’s no reason to believe that Lawson will be a match for Verstappen in 2025 but he cannot suffer the same deficit which cost Perez his drive at Red Bull.
Lawson must prove he can be a solid number two at Red Bull and avoid the fate that has met the likes of Perez, Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly before him.
“I think it would be the biggest challenge to go up against Max,” Lawson told media including Motorsport Week prior to the announcement he’d be partnering Verstappen in 2025.
“In a way it’s the best seat on the grid to be in. You get to learn directly off the best guy.
“To have access to his data every single session, to see exactly how he’s performing.
“For me as a driver who’s come into Formula 1, and is developing, it’s the best possible situation for me to be in.
“It would be what I would love. To have that data is what’s going to make me better.”
Max Verstappen
Verstappen had to use the entirety of his all-time talent to get a fourth successive F1 title over the line as Red Bull struggled in 2024.
With McLaren and Ferrari ending last year clearly ahead of the Milton Keynes-based outfit in overall pace, 2025 could be even harder for Verstappen.
Still, the Dutchman’s dogged determination means anything less than going five for five will be a failure.
Speaking after clinching his fourth world title at the Las Vegas GP, Verstappen said “I know that if we have that opportunity again, I mean, even with not the fastest car, we still won it, so I always know that when I sit in the car, I’m going to give it everything I have.
“And of course, over the last few years, I also grew as a driver and you definitely become more all around,” he continued.
“So in a way, of course, also very excited to see what we can do next year.
“It’s very unknown at the moment, of course, how competitive we are going to be.”
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