Did Red Bull start Liam Lawson too early? Will the New Zealander be up to the challenge of facing the ogre Max Verstappen in 2025? Is he not at risk of burning his wings like Alexander Albon or Pierre Gasly before him?
Christian Horner, the boss of Milton Keynes, is well aware of the danger of experiencing an Albon-bis. He admits it openly… but of course, explains why, in his opinion, Liam Lawson will not suffer the same fate.
“Look, the danger is that such a situation repeats itself, yes. »
“But I think Liam is a different character. He has a different personality that allows him to handle this pressure. I think he showed real resilience and strength of character with the opportunity he was given to show up, do the job and perform — and he did. »
Always very open, Christian Horner concedes that Lawson's tenure is coming sooner than expected. And so with one season less preparation…
“The original plan was not for it to ramp up for this year. Circumstances dictated this with Checo unfortunately not having a great season — so it was expedited. But we believe that on the trajectory Liam is on, it can only get better. »
Another very important point: Lawson's driving style would not be far from that of Max Verstappen.
“And he drives the car in a similar way to Max. He doesn't shy away from the idea of having a very aggressive front end in the car. So in terms of driving characteristics, it will be easier for cars to operate with settings closer to each other. »
“I think the other factor that we're very focused on is making sure that we create a wider operating window with the RB21 than the very narrow, very pointed performance window of the RB20. So for us, creating a wider window should hopefully help Liam find a car that's perhaps more forgiving than what the RB20 could be at times. »
With the Lawson-Verstappen duo, there is no mystery about the identity of the team's number 1. Christian Horner assumes a policy different from that of Ferrari (Charles Leclerc-Lewis Hamilton) or McLaren F1 (Lando Norris-Oscar Piastri).
“Daniel and Max formed a strong duo” he remembers. “Then we had two juniors who struggled. And that's why Checo obviously got in the car for the 2021 season and handled the associated pressures well. »
“One of the things we will look for is to protect Liam from expectations. Of course, when Alex and Pierre were on the team, Max wasn't a four-time world champion. He had yet to win a world championship at that point. We have a very clear positioning in the team with where Max is in his career and what we need from the second driver. »
Horner never considered Bottas
Another option for Red Bull would have been to hire a more experienced driver, the likes of Valtteri Bottas. The Finn was free from any contract, why not try it for Christian Horner?
“Was Bottas an option for Red Bull Racing? I think what we've really looked at, again, is utilizing the junior team, investing in that young talent and seeing those kids get a chance.” continues Christian Horner.
“So Liam (Lawson) was a product (of the youth sector), just like Max (Verstappen) and, before him, Sebastian Vettel. What's exciting for us is some of the young people in this program. Isack Hadjar, who finished and Arvid Lindblad, yet another talent definitely worth keeping an eye on over the next 12 months. »
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