Max Verstappen’s undeniable reign of dominance over his Red Bull teammates for six consecutive Formula 1 seasons has left many questioning – can Liam Lawson be the one to challenge this status quo come 2025? As a rookie, Lawson’s recent performance at the Bahrain test circuit has given us an initial peek into his potential.
Lawson’s fastest lap in Bahrain earned him the 11th position among the 20 drivers, trailing six-tenths slower than Verstappen. Though his run was marred by an illness, which resulted in fewer laps than Lance Stroll, the only driver to complete fewer laps, it’s important to note that these testing times can be deceptive. Several factors such as bad weather and technical issues with the Red Bull car impacted his performance.
Drawing direct comparisons between Lawson and Verstappen based on these test runs would be premature, particularly given the stark contrast in track conditions on the days they each had their full run. However, it’s worth noting that onlookers from The Race’s F1 team spotted Lawson’s struggle with the RB21 on several occasions, similar to Verstappen’s experiences.
Red Bull team boss, Christian Horner, commended Lawson’s technical feedback, emphasizing its consistency with Verstappen’s. This observation adds merit to the theory that has been circulating in the Red Bull camp – Lawson might just be a better fit than his predecessors.
Lawson’s ‘race zero’ markedly differs from Pierre Gasly’s tumultuous pre-season in 2019, which set him off on the wrong foot with Verstappen. Unlike Gasly who crashed twice during pre-season, Lawson demonstrated a commendable performance, pushing the car to its limit without any major errors. Furthermore, Lawson seems to be steering clear of the tense garage atmosphere that marred Gasly and Sergio Perez’s previous seasons.
Scott Mitchell-Malm, reporting on The Race F1 Podcast after the testing, noted a distinct change in the garage atmosphere with Lawson’s arrival – a breath of fresh air, he called it. He also highlighted Lawson’s calm and confident demeanor despite a compromised first test with Red Bull.
It’s important to remember that Lawson has not yet faced Verstappen head-on. While many Red Bull drivers have stepped into the season hoping to outpace Verstappen, they have often been left in the dust. Lawson, however, is not aiming to outdo Verstappen. Red Bull’s expectations from him, at least for now, are to be a reliable second driver to support Verstappen and the team’s championship aspirations.
Perez’s average qualifying gap to Verstappen over their four-year tenure was 0.452 seconds. This would be the immediate bar that Lawson needs to clear to prove his worth as a worthy successor. Moreover, Perez contributing less than 26% of Red Bull’s 2024 points is a benchmark that Lawson will have to strive to surpass.
In terms of qualifying, Lawson will need to outperform Gasly’s 0.567s slower pace than Verstappen during their 2019 season and Albon’s 0.671s slower pace in 2020. If Lawson can make it to Q3 smoothly in Australia, it will be a first for a Red Bull rookie.
Perez’s peaks at Red Bull were undoubtedly impressive, particularly during 2021-early 2023 when he even gave Verstappen a run for his money. However, his inability to keep up with the car’s evolution and new demands ultimately led to his downfall. Lawson’s feedback, similar to Verstappen’s, might offer a glimmer of hope that he can better adapt to the car’s development.
While it’s too soon to predict whether Lawson will meet the same fate as Gasly, Albon, and Perez, his initial performance indicates that he has a fighting chance of starting off on the right foot.
