Christian Horner and mistake Red Bull made in past not to repeat (also) with Liam Lawson. Christian Horner hopes to make the almost impossible mission a bit less daunting for Max Verstappen’s new teammate.

Liam’s impossible mission
Liam Lawson, not Yuki Tsunoda, will replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull. The young New Zealand driver, who has only competed in 11 F1 Grands Prix, now faces a nearly impossible mission—even for the most seasoned professional: holding his own (or at least not looking too outclassed) against a phenomenon of skill, speed, and talent like Max Verstappen. It is arguably the toughest role for any F1 driver today. However, Red Bull intends to make it a bit less challenging than it has been in the recent past. At least, this is the idea of team principal Christian Horner, who has suggested adjustments in the approach to the second car to avoid putting excessive pressure on Liam Lawson.

The tough job of Max Verstappen’s teammate
Since Daniel Ricciardo, and even during Max’s early years when his youth and relative inexperience were factors, Max Verstappen has dominated every teammate. Pierre Gasly lasted only 11 races before being demoted to Toro Rosso in 2019. His successor, Alex Albon, promoted mid-season, was sidelined entirely by the end of 2020 after just 27 races with Red Bull, taking on a reserve driver role. In this context, Sergio Perez is a record-holder, having lasted four full seasons. Yet cracks became apparent as early as 2022, and many fans believe the relationship between the Mexican and Red Bull lasted too long, given Checo’s underwhelming performance compared to Verstappen.

Christian Horner and the mistake not to repeat with Liam Lawson
It is partly for this reason that, despite Max Verstappen’s extraordinary talent, Horner has identified a past mistake that must not be repeated with Lawson. “I think the key thing,” the 51-year-old English manager told ESPN, “is not to put too much pressure on him and to ensure he doesn’t put too much pressure on himself, considering he’s up against the best driver of his generation. I think he needs to almost ignore the data coming from the number 1 car and focus on his team of engineers and what he’s doing. And try to do the best job he can. We hope to help him in that. The aim is to provide him with a car that suits him as well as it does Max next year. Then we’ll see how it goes.”