The Red Bulls' Liam Lawson struggled again, this time at the Chinese GP.
Image: AFP
Two races into the season, Liam Lawson has yet to find his footing in Formula One after finishing P15 at the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday. Red Bull CEO Christian Horner suggested that Lawson may have little time left to prove himself.
Lawson started the Chinese GP from the pits and was unable to fight his way up the pack to earn his first championship points, leaving Horner in a predicament. The Red Bulls need both drivers to be competitive if they are to challenge for the Constructors’ Title.
The New Zealand driver admitted that his performances over the weekend were not good enough, following a last-place qualifying position in the Sprint race as well. He was eliminated in the first part of qualifying on Saturday.
Horner told Sky F1 that he hopes Lawson will respond positively to the situation.
“Well, look, F1 is a pressure business, isn’t it? And there’s always time pressure – and he knows that. Hopefully, he’ll respond accordingly, and we’ll see where we go.
“Liam is a great little racer. He gets his elbows out, he races hard, but he’s struggling at the moment to find the limit with this car and extract the most out of it.
"As a team, we’re doing our best to support him. He’ll be in the debrief, providing all the information to the engineers very shortly,” Horner said.
While Max Verstappen has won four consecutive titles and looks to claim his fifth, Red Bull and Horner continue to struggle in securing a reliable second driver.
Sergio Pérez was their last race-winning second driver, even during the period when Daniel Ricciardo was bouncing in and out of the sport. However, Ricciardo never managed to return to the senior Red Bull team.
Horner entrusted the 23-year-old Kiwi with the seat but emphasised that Lawson must improve quickly if he hopes to keep it. He noted that Lawson needs to adapt to the aggressive nature of the RB21, as Red Bull prioritizes performance over ease of handling.
“You’re always going for ultimate performance. Fast cars are never easy to drive, but we know there’s performance we need to find. We need both drivers up there if we are to have any chance of fighting for the constructors’ championship — at the very least, the drivers’ championship as well.
“You need to have a second car in play. You can’t just do it one-legged. As a team, we want to ensure we’re getting the best out of both drivers and moving both cars as far up the grid as possible,” Horner said.
Max Verstappen currently sits second in the Drivers’ Standings behind Lando Norris, while Red Bull is third in the Constructors’ Standings. So far, all 36 of Red Bull’s points have been earned by Verstappen.
However, the gap is closing fast, with Ferrari showing improved form. Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc have put Ferrari just one point behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ Standings. If Lawson doesn’t improve quickly, Ferrari could overtake them by the end of next weekend.