Red Bull’s newcomer, Liam Lawson, experienced a less than stellar Grand Prix debut at the Australian circuit. However, Helmut Marko, Red Bull’s motorsport advisor, has refrained from passing a hasty judgement on the rookie. Marko intends to assess Lawson’s performance over a span of “three to five” races before drawing any conclusions.
The Kiwi racer was promoted to Red Bull’s primary team for the F1 2025 championship after demonstrating his potential across 11 Grand Prix rounds over two seasons with the junior team. From the get-go, Marko emphasized that Lawson’s primary role was to provide indispensable support to Max Verstappen in his quest for Red Bull championship titles.
Unfortunately, Lawson’s initiation into the Red Bull team was marked by a Did Not Finish (DNF) status at the Australian Grand Prix. His performance was marred by a premature exit in Q1 at Albert Park Circuit. This was due to his decision to abort his final flying lap in Q1 following a shaky moment at Turn 10, further aggravated by a slide at the second-to-last corner.
Starting from the 18th position, Lawson anticipated a rainy Grand Prix and made strategic modifications to his car. However, these changes, which included a different specification rear wing and rear beam wing, were not enough to improve his standing.
Lawson’s debut race ended in a crash, making him one of the four rookies who failed to complete the race. The other non-finishers included Isack Hadjar, Jack Doohan, and Gabriel Bortoleto.
While Lawson shouldered the blame for his performance, he did mention an ill-timed gamble. As the rain worsened, he hoped that at least half of the track would remain dry, and chose to remain on slick tyres.
However, this decision backfired as the rain intensified. Despite his best efforts to stay on track, the wet conditions proved too challenging, leading to the fatal crash.
Even though Lawson’s performance invited scrutiny, Marko refused to criticize the rookie. Instead, he chose to focus on Lawson’s potential, acknowledging that the young driver was eager to prove his worth, even if things didn’t go as planned. Marko expressed his intention to observe Lawson’s development over the next few races before passing any judgement.
Red Bull team boss, Christian Horner, echoed Marko’s sentiments, stating that the decision to keep Lawson on slick tyres was a team call. He admitted that the risk did not pay off, but refrained from blaming Lawson for the spin. Horner also noted that despite the challenging conditions, Lawson’s pace in dry weather was commendable.
Horner acknowledged that Lawson had a tough weekend and the pressure of missing FP3 didn’t help. He also pointed out that Lawson made mistakes, but remained optimistic about the young driver’s resilience. Horner believes that Lawson’s debut performance was not representative of his true potential.
The Red Bull team is now looking ahead to the next weekend’s Sprint race. Despite the challenges it presents, especially given that Lawson has never raced at the track before, the team remains hopeful about his future performances.