Franz Tost warns Liam Lawson: “Never try to compete with Max Verstappen”. Franz Tost advised Liam Lawson not to challenge his future teammate. .

Max Verstappen, everyone’s nightmare
Since his promotion to Red Bull in 2016 through 2023, Max Verstappen has always managed to outperform all his teammates. In addition to winning four consecutive world titles and being recognized as one of the greatest talents in Formula 1 history, the Dutchman has seriously challenged Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat, Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, and finally Sergio Perez. Not coincidentally, all these drivers ended their time at Milton Keynes relatively quickly due to underwhelming results compared to those of the #1.

Liam Lawson arrives
In 2025, Red Bull will complete its line-up with the promotion of Liam Lawson, chosen to replace ‘Checo’ Perez. With only 11 GPs under his belt, all with the Racing Bulls and without ever participating in a full F1 season, the 22-year-old New Zealander will have to face the multi-world champion. A far from simple task, as recent history shows.

Take note…
In fact, shortly after the announcement of his move to Red Bull, former AlphaTauri Team Principal Franz Tost wanted to give Lawson some advice. The Austrian, a key figure for the young driver in the Red Bull Junior Team, was very clear and honest about the challenges Lawson may face, urging him to focus on other primary goals: “Both Tsunoda and Lawson deserved the promotion,” Tost explained to F1-Insider. “All I can say to Liam is that he should do his own thing and never try to compete with Verstappen. Max is one of the greatest of all time, on par with Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna. He’s not even close to his peak and has infinite potential.”