Liam Lawson expressed deep appreciation for Max Verstappen’s supportive attitude during his brief stint as a Red Bull Racing driver in early 2025. Despite the challenges Lawson faced, Verstappen remained a positive influence, offering assistance both on and off the track. Lawson revealed that Verstappen even offered him rides back to Monaco, demonstrating a level of generosity that exceeded expectations.
Lawson’s time at Red Bull was short, participating in just two Grands Prix before being demoted back to the junior Racing Bulls team. Verstappen publicly showed dissatisfaction with this decision, but behind the scenes, Lawson emphasized how kind and approachable Verstappen had been throughout the transition.
“He’s also so, so nice as a person. He’s such a nice guy,”
Lawson said on the Gypsy Tales podcast.
“Through everything that happened last year with Red Bull, he was so good to me, man. Before I came into the team, when I first came on the team, he was super nice, and any questions, he was just really helpful, was happy to help. And then afterwards as well, he was really, really good to me. Quite often he flies home, and I just moved to Monaco last year, and he’s just like, ‘Just come with me if you ever need a ride.’ So yeah, he’s a real nice guy.”
Challenges Lawson Faced with the Red Bull RB21 Car
After progressing through Red Bull’s junior outfit Racing Bulls and AlphaTauri, Lawson’s jump to Red Bull came with high expectations but tough challenges. His best finish was P12 in China, and he struggled particularly in qualifying sessions, never advancing past the first round.
Lawson described the Red Bull RB21 car as difficult to adapt to, with an initial imbalance that affected his confidence, especially during high-speed corners. Comparing the car to its predecessor, the VCARB, Lawson noted a significant difference, explaining that the car was more sensitive in its handling rather than simply having too much front grip.
“For me, it’s always going to be I didn’t have enough time to get my head around it. So it was very different from the VCARB at the time. But, I think everybody just maybe thinks that it’s got so much front and that it’s undriveable because it’s got so much front, and it’s not actually not like that,”
Lawson said.
He went on to highlight the difficulty of gaining enough confidence in critical corners, such as Turn 1 in China, where the margin for error is minimal. Lawson emphasized that without full confidence, drivers can lose significant lap time, sometimes as much as half a second in a single corner.
“China Turn 1, for example. It’s just such a high speed that if you’re not 100 percent confident when you’re doing it, it’s not like half a tenth, it’s half a second. You lose so much lap time if you’re not. So you need to be sort of that level of comfort,”
Lawson explained. He admitted he managed to find that comfort a few times during his two weekends but never during qualifying.
Team Changes and Future Prospects for Lawson and Tsunoda
Following Lawson’s two races in Australia and China, Red Bull swapped him with Yuki Tsunoda, returning Lawson to Racing Bulls and promoting Tsunoda to Red Bull’s main team from the Japanese Grand Prix onward. Tsunoda struggled to make a strong impact, eventually being moved to Red Bull’s test and reserve driver role for 2026, while Lawson secured a contract with Racing Bulls for the upcoming season.
Lawson’s challenges and Verstappen’s support reflect the intense pressures and dynamics within Formula 1 teams, especially when competing alongside a four-time World Champion like Verstappen. Lawson’s experience demonstrates both the difficulties in adapting to a top-level car such as the RB21 and the importance of teammate support amidst those challenges.
As Lawson continues with Racing Bulls in 2026, the knowledge gained and encouragement from Verstappen may prove valuable in his ongoing development as a Formula 1 driver.
