When Crimson Bull determined who to go System 1’s poisoned chalice to for 2025, one issue outweighed all others in deciding on Liam Lawson as Max Verstappen’s teammate. Efficiency mattered, however extra necessary was the sturdy mindset required to thrive the place his predecessors have failed. It’s a logical criterion to prioritize, however one doubtlessly resulting in different issues given the mentality intrinsic to any profitable racing driver.
It’s an exaggeration to say Verstappen is a career-killer given Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon rose once more in F1, albeit to diminished heights, whereas Sergio Perez is licking his wounds forward of a attainable return in 2026, however all of them sustained heavy harm from sharing a storage with him. Racing historical past is filled with succesful drivers made to look third-rate by direct comparability to an all-time nice, however Crimson Bull believes – or maybe extra precisely, hopes – Lawson has what it takes to keep away from that destiny. The New Zealander, at 22 and with simply 11 grand prix begins sprinkled throughout two seasons beneath his belt, is seen as sufficiently broad-shouldered to hold the load of what has change into an inconceivable project.
The query of an athlete’s mindset is way mentioned and well known as a significant part of their sporting make-up, but it’s additionally poorly outlined and tough to research and check besides by trial by fireplace in competitors. Lawson has proved he’s assured, carrying himself with an smug swagger typical of many top-level grand prix drivers each inside and outdoors of the automotive. His CV is gentle on titles – the 2019 Toyota Racing Collection is his most illustrious championship win in automobiles – however contains wins in any respect ranges. Usually, he begins strongly, which helps the notion he’s by no means overawed by a step up. Nonetheless, there’s a suspicion his development then plateaus.
Crimson Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko has set an unambiguous goal for Lawson, who “must be inside three-tenths of Max in each qualifying and the race,” together with contributing the factors wanted to win the constructors’ championship and the expectation “he also needs to steadily enhance his efficiency – if attainable.” These are broadly the identical set of targets Gasly, Albon and Perez failed to realize, for whereas Perez contributed to constructors’ titles in 2022 and ’23, these had been in seasons the place Crimson Bull had a big efficiency benefit. When it was shut in ’21 and ’24, he price it. Lawson’s problem is to keep away from being a weak hyperlink.
Marko additionally claims Lawson’s “psychological energy tipped the scales.” Whereas he and Crimson Bull crew principal Christian Horner aren’t all the time on the identical web page in relation to the decision-making course of, they’re aligned right here.
“What has actually stood out with him has been his perspective and his potential to cope with stress,”says Horner. “All of the rookies regarded a bit of bit like rookies in Brazil [in the wet]. Liam didn’t drop the automotive, he didn’t make any errors. He’s regarded a seasoned campaigner. Should you have a look at his performances, he’s agile as properly. We put him in a DTM automotive for a 12 months alongside Alex Albon; he was very fast. He races exhausting, and he’s obtained broad shoulders. You want that to be in that seat.
“Liam has obtained the best character to have the ability to deal with the stress of being Max’s teammate and the expectations on him are very clear. We’re not anticipating him to beat Max, Max is a generational expertise. The target is to get as shut as he can and bag as many factors as he can, in order that we don’t have a 285-point deficit between the automobiles.”
Crimson Bull’s management insists that it’s not blind to the dangers of pairing the comparatively unseasoned Lawson with Verstappen, however believes the Kiwi’s psychological energy will assist him succeed the place others struggled. Andrew Ferraro/Motorsport Photos
This sounds promising and it’s conceivable Lawson may settle into this function comfortably, changing into Eddie Irvine to Verstappen’s Michael Schumacher. When Irvine signed as much as be Schumacher’s teammate, he knew it was as quantity two and really publicly embraced it, ending his four-year stint at Maranello with a quartet of grand prix wins and an unsuccessful tilt on the world championship in ’99. However Irvine is a rarity; extra typically the psychology is that of the usurper – doubly so because the “grasp and apprentice” strategy that when held sway in grand prix racing pale away many years in the past.
Lawson will say all the best issues and head into a tricky season along with his eyes open. Intellectually, he’ll embrace the mission of being Verstappen’s wing man, however he will probably be conflicted. Racing drivers, a minimum of those who make it to this degree on advantage, are aggressive beasts normally with the utter conviction they will beat anybody. Their careers are constructed upon the expectation they are going to get within the automotive and be quicker, higher, extra profitable than each driver they face. The conviction might be whittled away at by time for world-weary campaigners, however not somebody of Lawson’s age. There’s little question that his mentality received’t simply be of being a superb quantity two – deep down, he’ll imagine he can depose Verstappen.
Lawson is an abrasive competitor and in his six 2024 outings earned himself a repute for being a tricky rival in wheel-to-wheel fight. Whereas happenstance meant he typically crossed paths with Perez, there’s no query he knew the importance of battles with the motive force he was in competition to exchange. Fairly than being cowed by this, he backed himself and wasn’t afraid of risking irritating his paymasters by exhibiting that this was his time. Marko, specifically, could have cherished this strategy.
Verstappen is a totally completely different proposition to Perez, however Lawson will see him as simply one other skittle to be knocked down in his profession development. The simplest quantity two drivers are normally those that don’t know – or fairly haven’t accepted –that is their lot in life. Valtteri Bottas exemplified this at Mercedes, coming again yearly decided to barge Lewis Hamilton out of his crew chief function and repeatedly failing. Ideally, you desire a driver who can hold dusting themselves down and get again up once more as a result of they are going to get one of the best from themselves and hold their teammate on their toes. However this will’t final without end and ultimately such resolve is eroded.
The impact may very well be delayed for Lawson given he maybe can hark again to the outdated days of studying from a star driver because of Verstappen being courted by rival groups forward of a attainable transfer away from Crimson Bull. Had been that to occur for ’26 then Lawson can fulfill himself by being shut sufficient this 12 months to be seen as a reputable crew chief sooner or later. Nonetheless, that’s a slender set of circumstances, contingent on components outdoors of his management.
Each empire falls. Nice drivers seem like omnipotent entities who will eternally prevail, till all of a sudden sooner or later they aren’t. They survive assault from numerous rivals however ultimately, for no matter cause, will probably be deposed. Lawson should imagine he might be that agent of change as a result of that comes with the territory of his sturdy mindset, which will probably be based upon the understanding he might be higher than anybody.
Objectively, that is massively bold and there’s no cause to imagine Lawson can pull it off. In reality, the proof of his profession factors to a driver who is nice fairly than nice – which means he has the flexibility to have a protracted and completed grand prix profession, however not a Verstappen-beating one. Nonetheless, the mentality of drivers is just not, and in some ways can not, be so goal by way of placing a ceiling on their potential. In the event that they did, would any ever set foot on the trail to F1, given the ludicrously lengthy odds of creating it?
Verstappen’s reign will finish in some unspecified time in the future. Lawson will probably be privately backing himself to hurry that course of alongside. Crimson Bull Content material Pool
Let’s say Lawson does do higher than that three-tenths deficit and one way or the other begins pushing Verstappen, then he will probably be minded to maneuver in for the kill. This implies all of the qualities which have helped him get there may change into an issue for Crimson Bull – the killer intuition, the self-confidence, the sturdy mentality. Unlikely as it’s, it’s not solely inconceivable.
The corollary is he experiences what nearly each driver does ultimately – the psychological battering of being instantly in comparison with somebody emphatically higher than you. Subsequently, Crimson Bull wants Lawson to string the needle – he must be shut sufficient to contribute with out being an issue however not fall into confusion and despondency. Verstappen teammates have a behavior of getting misplaced, and if that occurs it’s a troublesome wilderness to seek out your method out of. The draw back of a rock-solid mentality is, if you’re destabilized, you may fall far and rapidly.
Crimson Bull has determined Lawson is one of the best candidate for the job, or a minimum of from amongst its present secure. You may argue it’s making the identical outdated mistake by swinging again to selling an inexperienced younger driver, working a threat of a repeat of the failure of Gasly and Albon. Horner is smart sufficient to simply accept there’s a threat of this, however once more argues Lawson is completely different.
“The hazard is there’s a repeat of that, however Liam is a special character,” says Horner. “He’s a special persona, capable of cope with the stress. He’s proven an actual resilience and energy of character with the chance that’s been offered. And he drives the automotive similarly to Max, he doesn’t shrink back from having a really constructive entrance finish within the automotive. So by way of driving traits, it is going to be simpler for the automobiles to run extra carefully collectively in set-up.”
Horner’s level about driving fashion is necessary as too typically its quantity twos have change into misplaced in set-up experiments. A driver’s tolerances outline how one can develop and run a automotive and Verstappen, like Schumacher, likes a sharp automotive on turn-in. The quickest automotive theoretically will all the time have that instability on turn-in however requires the motive force to have a really exact really feel and talent to proactively management the rear.
Verstappen was confounded at instances final 12 months when restricted by understeer as a result of it imposed an easier-to-access however decrease restrict of the automotive. Nonetheless, the query is whether or not Lawson actually can match that fashion. He does wish to push the rotation within the entries and subsequently a rear finish with a level of instability, however he should keep away from falling into the entice of making an attempt to realize that with late braking. Gasly suffered from that, typically braking later than Verstappen, affected by under-rotation in consequence, then complaining of a scarcity of traction in nook exits as a result of he was successfully driving an extended nook.
Lawson will study a lot from Verstappen, not solely by way of tips on how to be fast but additionally the artwork of tire administration. It’s unclear simply how robust a problem he’ll face this season given it stays to be seen how aggressive Crimson Bull is after its 2024 troubles. However one factor is for certain – Lawson heads into the brand new season with absolute confidence and a certainty that he received’t articulate publicly that he might be the one to defeat Verstappen.
Lawson would by no means have made it this far if he didn’t. However for all of Crimson Bull’s confidence in him, there’s no method of understanding how he’ll actually reply to what can be a punishing state of affairs for many drivers. His psychological energy won’t ever have been examined like this earlier than and given it’s vanishingly unlikely he’ll be capable of ship on the hopes of usurping F1’s prime canine, which might convey its personal issues, even Lawson received’t actually know the way he’ll stand as much as it.
All we are able to know for positive is that proper now, earlier than the fact of the battle units in, he will probably be quietly assured that he can flip this troublesome alternative right into a career-making one. And that elementary fact implies that if, or extra realistically when, he can’t, no one is aware of how he’ll reply.
