Red Bull To Assess If Liam Lawson Can 'Raise The Game' In 2025 As Seat Not Concrete

Saajan Jogia | 17 Hours Ago

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - DECEMBER 08: Liam Lawson of New Zealand and Visa Cash App RB talks to Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 08, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) / Red Bull Content Pool

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko has revealed that following Liam Lawson's promotion to Red Bull, where he will take the seat of the RB21 F1 car next year, he will be closely assessed to see if he can "raise the game" alongside Max Verstappen.

Lawson was assigned a seat in Red Bull's junior F1 team VCARB for the remainder of the 2024 season, starting from the United States Grand Prix after Daniel Ricciardo's exit. This was done so that Red Bull could evaluate his performance alongside Yuki Tsunoda for a potential promotion in case Sergio Perez's performance diminished further.

Considering that Red Bull lost the top two positions in the Constructors' Championship to McLaren and Ferrari, the shareholders decided to replace Perez with Lawson in a meeting after the Abu Dhabi season finale. However, Marko suggests that given Lawson's 11-race experience in the premier class of motorsport (five races from last year and six races this year), The Kiwi driver's performance will be evaluated to determine how much he can enhance his results with a more competitive car. Speaking on the Inside Line podcast, the 81-year-old advisor was asked if there was one area Lawson could improve, he said:

“All I would say is that he is more consistent in the races, that he does top times with both types of tyre.

“There is some sort of variation still but that is [down to his inexperience].

“Liam proved already that he is a very tough racer. He is not shy to fight with big names like he did with [Fernando] Alonso, with [Lewis] Hamilton, also with Perez.

“So now, if he gets a full season, he has to show that he is able to raise the game.

“In qualifying, he was more or less on the same level as Yuki [Tsunoda] and we have to see how much more is coming, to see if he is becoming one of the great drivers.”

Replacing Perez in 2025, Lawson acknowledged that he has "big shoes to fill," given his massive contribution to Red Bull in the last four years. Speaking to Sky Sports F1 on how much respect he has for the Mexican driver, as quoted by PlanetF1, Lawson said:

“It’s huge.

“I mean, honestly, it goes back to when I was a kid and I remember watching a race, that I think really was one of his big sort of putting him on the map, was in Malaysia and in the Sauber and he was fighting with Fernando Alonso.

“And I remember that race as a kid, watching that, so to be competing against these guys now, anyways, to put things into perspective, is quite crazy.

“And I have a huge amount of respect for what he’s done in the sport, and what he’s done for this team.

“So yeah, in a way, it’s probably big shoes to fill, but obviously it’s exciting.”