Liam Lawson told he has to "come out of the blocks quickly" against Max Verstappen

Ex-F1 driver Johnny Herbert believes Liam Lawson will need to “come out of the blocks quickly” when he goes up against Max Verstappen.

After just 11 races in F1, Red Bull decided to promote Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda from Racing Bulls.

Lawson will have the daunting task of going up against Verstappen in 2025.

Verstappen has annihilated all of his recent teammates.

Pierre Gasly was replaced midway through 2019 due to his poor level of performance relative to Verstappen.

His replacement was Alex Albon, who was sacked at the end of 2020.

While Sergio Perez lasted four years, he was very fortunate to do so, given the level of machinery given to him.

Lawson will face a similarly difficult task as he goes up against the four-time F1 world champion.

Speaking to Casinoutanspelpaus.io, Herbert analysed Lawson’s chances of succeeding at Red Bull.

“I don’t think Liam Lawson has proven himself 100 per cent worthy of the Red Bull seat because, in my old ways, it’s always about how you do against your teammates and in his time at RB, he didn’t blow away Yuki Tsunoda,” Herbert said.

“Tsunoda was always mighty quick when he came down to qualify. He had his days. There was a nice synergy between the two, I suppose. You had a good backup, whichever way around it wasn’t one particular weekend. They had a very good backup of one of those two drivers.

“Lawson has to come out of the blocks quickly because as soon as Verstappen feels he’s in control of the on-track activities, the speed that he has, but also then going down to the teeth, he’s going to start to struggle and the mental battles will start to come into play.

“Has he got the ingredients to race up against Verstappen? I think he has. But now we’ve just got to see it, I suppose. You’ve got to prove it. It’s always that. You’re always under pressure to prove.”

Red Bull’s 2025 F1 title hopes

Red Bull will be hopeful that Lawson’s arrival coincides with a return to the very front of the grid.

While Verstappen won last year’s drivers’ title, McLaren and Ferrari stole a march in the development race.

This left Red Bull with the third-fastest car for much of the second half of the year.

By the end of the season, Red Bull had dropped to third in the constructors’ championship, their lowest finish since 2019.

Red Bull have focused on making their F1 challenger easier to drive after Verstappen’s sheer driving talent masked a number of issues with it, particularly in 2023.

For Red Bull, it could be their best hope of winning either title for some time.

In 2026, they will run their own engines for the first time, having set up Red Bull Powertrains.