Liam Lawson has denied sensing an uneasy atmosphere during his stint with Red Bull in Formula 1, which preceded its sacking of boss Christian Horner.
The 51-year-old was sensationally dismissed from all operational duties by the Milton Keynes-based squad just days after the British Grand Prix.
Horner was said to have lost the confidence of the Red Bull hierarchy and was immediately replaced by Racing Bulls boss Laurent Mekies as Team Principal and CEO.
Lawson had been promoted from the satellite squad to the full Red Bull team for this season, but was switched with Yuki Tsunoda after just two Grands Prix.
When asked if he sensed a tense environment within the camp during his stint with the team, Lawson denied making such an observation.
“No, I don’t think so,” he told media including Motorsport Week. It’s not something I noticed.
“If I was trying to be very aware of everybody’s position, then maybe I would figure something out.
“But I had so much to think about myself. I only know what the decisions were with what happened with me and I made that very clear to everybody how I felt about that.
“Anything else regarding Red Bull’s relationship I wasn’t a part of and wasn’t really aware.”
Mekies was immediately called upon to fill the sizeable shoes vacated by Horner, who led Red Bull for the entirety of its 20-year history on the F1 grid.
The irony lies with Lawson’s subsequent return to Racing Bulls, having then raced the next 10 Grands Prix under the Frenchman’s management.
This meant the Kiwi was more au fait with Mekies than he was with Horner, something he added in response to the intrigue of his brief experience at the team.
“I was at Red Bull for two races, so I didn’t really work much with Red Bull,” he continued.
“It’s hard to say in two races. Honestly, I spent most of my time working with Laurent.”
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