Liam Lawson’s first Red Bull F1 season alongside Max Verstappen “make or break”

Former F1 driver Anthony Davidson believes Liam Lawson’s first year at Red Bull is “make or break” as he tries to get close to Max Verstappen in 2025.

After just 11 races to his name, Red Bull chose Lawson over Yuki Tsunoda as Verstappen’s teammate for the 2025 F1 season.

While Lawson didn’t necessarily out-perform Tsunoda, Red Bull have been impressed with how quickly he’s adapted to F1.

Lawson has also handled himself well on track, particularly during intense wheel-to-wheel battles against Fernando Alonso and Sergio Perez.

Looking ahead to the new season, Davidson outlined what he expects from Lawson during his first full F1 campaign.

“Liam Lawson’s brief is simple. If I was team boss there, I would be looking for Liam to bag more points that Sergio Perez did from halfway through last year to the end of the year,” Davidson wrote on the Sky Sports F1 website.

“But maybe the team want more, maybe the fans want more and to see Max Verstappen challenged but that’s a tall order if you’re going up against the best in the business right now. As things get tougher with the closing competition, you’ll see Max get even more out of himself in those moments and therefore the goalposts move even more for someone like Liam.

“Liam knows this is make or break. Your career’s come to this point where you’re on this plateau, it’s now time to deliver and if you do, you’re going to be in F1 for a long time, but I’m sure he’s fully aware that many have tried and many have failed, alongside Max.”

Lawson has the “resilience” to cope with Verstappen

The second Red Bull seat has been a poisoned chalice since Daniel Ricciardo’s departure at the end of 2018.

Pierre Gasly was dropped by Red Bull midway through his first season with the team in 2019 for Alex Albon.

Albon then struggled and was axed at the end of 2020 after he failed to out-qualify Verstappen in any of the 17 races.

Sergio Perez remained at Red Bull for four full seasons, but talk about his future was common.

Davidson feels Lawson has the resilience to cope with the challenge of going up against Verstappen.

“We have seen some great drivers get mentally destroyed,” Davidson added. “As intimidating as that is, you at least have the knowledge of this possibility.

“With only 11 Grands Prix under his belt, this will be tough for Liam. I’m excited to see how he does because I think he’s great. He’s got resilience and I hope he handles himself well.

“As for Max, he will just hope he has a car that gives him half a chance. I’m sure we will see more brilliance and more moments where it’s close to the edge, or over the limit as he continues to battle in true Max Verstappen ruthless style. He always gets the most out of the car.”