Oracle Red Bull Racing, Mark Thompson, Getty images
F1 News
Former F1 driver Davidson knows what Lawson has to do next to Verstappen
For Liam Lawson, his goal in his first Formula 1 season at Red Bull Racing is clear, as he will look to score enough points to help the Austrian team and Max Verstappen to fight for the constructors' championship, with former F1 driver Anthony Davidson agreeing on that point.
With relatively little experience in the premier class of motorsport, Lawson was appointed to replace Sergio Perez, who parted ways mutually with Red Bull as their driver after 2024. At Red Bull, the 23-year-old New Zealander will be under far more pressure than he has ever experienced. Team boss Christian Horner and top advisor Helmut Marko already made it clear that, ultimately, the expectation is that Lawson can stay within two or three-tenths of Verstappen.
Davidson: 'The pressure on Lawson will be immense'
Davidson, who raced in 24 Grands Prix in his career, also stressed that Lawson's job will mainly be to help the team by getting consistent results: "With only 11 Grands Prix under his belt, Lawson steps into the 'hot seat' alongside one of the best F1 drivers the world has ever seen, Max Verstappen, without question making it a career-defining moment," he told Sky Sports.
"His brief is simple: bring home championship points on a regular basis in order to help Red Bull fight for the Constructors’ Championship. There’ll be no hiding, and the pressure will be immense for him, but so far he’s clearly impressed the right people, whose opinions matter. It will be one of the highlights for me, seeing how he gets on this year at the sharp end of the grid.”
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
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