Liam Lawson expects a difficult start to his first full season as a Formula 1 driver as he has never raced at some of the first tracks the series will visit.
Red Bull has promoted Lawson to be Max Verstappen’s new team mate after just 11 grand prix appearances. The team won nine grands prix last year but Lawson says he is unlikely to start the season challenging for victories.“Coming into Formula 1, the goal was to do a good job to obviously move up to the main team, and I’ve been lucky enough to do that so obviously I’m a step closer to that goal,” he said. “But obviously I’ve still [got] a lot to achieve before something like that happens.
“Going into a year like this, especially the start of the season, I’m going to a lot of tracks I haven’t done before. It’s a new team and I think big expectations so it’s very exciting but I’m also expecting it to be the toughest year that I’ve come into.”
Lawson has driven for Red Bull’s second team in the second half of the last two seasons. Of the tracks F1 will visit early in the season, Lawson has only previously visited them in junior categories, if at all. Melbourne, Shanghai and Montreal are among those which will be new to him.
“I’m very excited for Melbourne and I’m very excited for the start of the year,” he said. “There’s a lot of cool tracks that I haven’t done that I think I will enjoy, like Melbourne. China looks like a cool track, Canada is somewhere I’ve always wanted to drive.
“But I think the start of the year is going to be the hardest as well. Going to a bunch of tracks I haven’t done before starting the season, it’s going to be very, very tough.
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“I’ve only ever finished a season, I’ve never really completed one. So I think the start of the year is going to be the hardest. But I would say I’m also most excited to go to these new tracks.”
Going up against four-times world champion Verstappen in the same cars will be “extremely challenging”, Lawson predicts.
“But at the same time, there’s more opportunity than ever [having] someone like him as a team mate, somebody who’s been in this team for 10 years and obviously he’s just won the last four world championships,” he added. “There’s nobody better to align everything that I’m doing with because all of our data is going to be shared.
“For me, that’s a great opportunity to learn. There’s nobody better to learn, to improve [with]. So that’s exciting.
“But obviously at the same time, having somebody so quick and competitive is going to come with its challenges. So for me, it’s just about making the most of that.”
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Yes (@come-on-kubica)
17th February 2025, 10:05
I’m sure you’ll be smashing max before you know it.
mrt
17th February 2025, 16:06
Haaa thankyou! Again after a long day, you are here to entertain!
BasCB (@bascb)
17th February 2025, 18:28
probably smashing a Red Bull more likely though
Olivier
17th February 2025, 10:26
Should we feel sorry for these rookies being thrown into the spotlight of a top team? As Martin Brundle puts it: F1 is not a finishing school.
Oople ZERO
17th February 2025, 17:33
But… it is though.
More so now than in Brundle’s time.
Back then, testing was far more abundant. F2 cars just aren’t as representative as we’d hope they were, and simulators only do so much. Without the 100s of km of testing that rookies of an long-gone age could have been given, yes… F1 has to be a finishing school first.
El Pollo Loco
17th February 2025, 23:42
You’re also forgetting how much better and more professionally drivers are prepared today in the junior formulas from physically fitness, to sim work, to driving multiple different series a year and critically things like learning how to give good technical feedback. And many drivers didn’t get to do endless testing in the old days. That usually only occurred for the very best prospects. That and the fact in Lawson’s case he’s already had half a season’s worth of racing and a ton of testing + a ton of sim work to boot. So, yeah, this especially isn’t a finishing school in his case.
Esmiz (@esmiz)
17th February 2025, 23:45
Today there are no tests, but the cars are easier to drive and they have good simulators. Also, all teams have young driver programs where they are trained, analyzed and corrected. I don’t think being a rookie is easier than before, but I don’t think it’s harder either.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
17th February 2025, 10:46
I’d have thought RBR’s simulator would have given him plenty of experience at those tracks.
Craig
17th February 2025, 12:17
Simulators can only teach you so much.
David BR (@david-br)
17th February 2025, 11:29
‘Very very tough’? Too tough? Not sure about the ‘can’t do’ attitude.
XM (@xmf1)
17th February 2025, 14:18
“I expected it at the beginning of the season, it’s only upwards from here” – if he performs badly.
“I exceeded my expectations, I’m happy moving forward” – if he performs averagely.
A win-win statement for himself really lol
El Pollo Loco
17th February 2025, 23:43
Indeed. The classic lines.
tielemst
17th February 2025, 14:37
Just remember: if you look him right into the eyes, you’ll be petrified. Happened to Sergio.
Edvaldo
17th February 2025, 17:11
His saying this makes Red Bull’s decision on him look even worse than it already is.
Fulge
17th February 2025, 17:18
If only Red Bull had a “little sister” team in which their future drivers could learn the tracks.
El Pollo Loco
17th February 2025, 23:45
Yeah. And if they did, they could promote a driver after he’s gotten a few seasons of experience and beat the many other b-team prospects they threw at him. Then, if he failed, they could bring this other young prospect up to replace him.
BMW P85 V10
17th February 2025, 20:45
All the negativity about Red Bull, but kimi Antonelli faces the same challenge without any GP driven.
Zann (@zann)
18th February 2025, 7:36
Yes, perhaps this is how we see the different cultures between Red Bull and Mercedes.
Stephen Crowsen (@drycrust)
17th February 2025, 22:31
You need to do more homework. Believe in hard work. You must learn those tracks off by heart, which means being able to draw each of those tracks on a piece of paper, and you need to be able to draw the racing line on those tracks as well. You need to spend time studying Pirelli’s tyres, so you know exactly how to get the performance from them. Listen to what the engineers tell you during simulator sessions, then try to apply it. Believe in continuous improvement. Don’t go into a simulator session without having done your homework from the last session. Don’t leave a simulator session without them giving you a list of things to improve upon. Look at how Max drives, then try to replicate that. Talent doesn’t help if you don’t put in the hard work.
Kristian
18th February 2025, 9:56
Funny how his arrogance has dissipated somewhat!
The realisation of driving alongside the defacto No 1 in that team.
Thought you might have to wind your neck In a little bit boy.