Red Bull reminded of Nyck de Vries in warning not to “overexpose” Liam Lawson

Red Bull have been told not to put Liam Lawson into their car too soon, with the example of Nyck de Vries cited.

Ex-Red Bull junior De Vries shone on his F1 debut, when he was loaned to Williams to replace the unwell Alex Albon at the 2022 Italian Grand Prix, with a P9 finish earning rave reviews.

But his rookie season as a full-time driver, for Red Bull’s sister team AlphaTauri, was cut short after just 10 races. He was replaced permanently by Daniel Ricciardo due to his poor form.

As a result, Red Bull have been advised to show caution with the highly-rated Lawson.

Natalie Pinkham said on the F1 Nation podcast: “Surely you aren’t going to throw Liam straight into a Red Bull seat?

“I’m sure he’d say that he could handle it.

“Haven’t we seen this time and time again? You overexpose these young drivers. It’s a ruthless system.

“If it was me, and I wanted to manage Lawson, I’d bring him into the junior team first and promote him as and when he deserves it.

“Look at Nyck de Vries. He had a brilliant outing when he subbed for Alex Albon.

“Then he came in and was overexposed. It’s tough, it’s not easy to be consistently competitive.”

Tom Clarkson replied: “If Lawson comes in alongside Max Verstappen, he ain’t looking great. Nobody looks great alongside Verstappen.”

But former F1 driver Alex Wurz disagreed: “One shot, just take it. If you want to go against the big boys, then go in.

“You can only surprise. Perhaps with a bit of luck…

“I was here at Silverstone a long time ago as a substitute driver. I went straight to the podium.

“The day after, I had multiple teams calling me for a contract. Benetton were the fastest to sign me. I know it can happen straight away, you just need that good race.

“With luck, if he comes to a track where the Red Bull works…

“Overthinking is the problem. He is a very good driver.

“There is a young generation incoming who will show new skills. He’s at the forefront.”

Lawson performed admirably last year for AlphaTauri when deputising for the injured Ricciardo.

This year, his name is back in the mix due to the bad form of Sergio Perez.